


Survival Theory

by QueenOfNewOrleans22



Category: Bon Jovi (Band)
Genre: Angst, Attempted Murder, Blood and Injury, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Sexual Content, Survival Horror, Wilderness Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 89,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28180680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfNewOrleans22/pseuds/QueenOfNewOrleans22
Summary: After their bus crashes in the middle of nowhere, the band, their manager and their driver are left to try and survive in the wilderness, where realism seems to meet surrealism, and the reality of their situation becomes clearer and clearer each day.Despite this, they are determined to survive, and despite being stuck between a rock and a hard place, might just rise to the occasion.
Relationships: Jon Bon Jovi/Richie Sambora
Comments: 248
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

_They were young, talented, and on everybody's minds. A small group from New Jersey turned into big-time Rockstars who disappeared last week while on the first leg of their aptly named 'New Jersey' tour alongside their manager, Doc MgHee, and the driver of their tour bus, Bryce Loren. All around the world, prayers are coming in for the members and their manager to return home safely. The members' families are hoping and praying for a quick and safe return._

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Tuesday, 5:48 PM**

Tico huffed out air through his nose, mindlessly flipped the page from his book, and when it became apparent that he hadn't read the previous page nor the one before that, he tossed the book aside onto the empty seat next to his own and folded his hands. "You guys are driving me to distraction." He muttered through the side of his mouth, not keen on awakening the beast, who was snoring on the seat on the other side of the aisle. 

From the other end of the bus, Alec scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Like you were reading that book anyways. What was it, 'Jane Eyre'?" He snorted at the mere thought and then turned around. "Hit me." 

David didn't even look up from his cards before he obliged and slapped another one in front of the bassist. "I thought it was a biography on that one guy." He said.

"What guy?" Alec furrowed his eyebrows, confused as he peered at the card he'd been given. "You asshole. This is a Queen, it won't help me win at all." He scowled but nonetheless tucked it with the others. 

"Um..." David snapped his fingers. "The solider. The guy from the Civil War." He motioned frantically in the air, as if that would help him remember. 

"Grant?" Richie stopped flipping through his magazine, leaning foward and looking around at David, who nodded. 

"Yeah, that guy. Ah, don't fold yet, 'Lec, you might still have a chance." David lightly smacked Alec on the shoulder. 

"This would be enough to make my mother disown me." Alec said, waving the cards in the air before rubbing the bridge of his nose and pinching it. "I'm not gonna win." He said simply. 

"Oh, but you might have a chance yet." Richie smirked. 

Tico wasn't looking (if anything, he was kinda trying _not_ to look), but he caught in the corner of his eye how Richie was absently running his hand over Jon's leg in a vaguely affectionate gesture that might've come from mere platonic love, but more than likely was a product of whatever head been going on between them for the last few weeks. 

He didn't mind beyond the general awkwardness that came with knowing that two of his best friends were _doing things,_ and wished that he could tell them that and assuage any fears, but Tico settled for pursing his lips and standing up, his legs weak from having been sitting for so long. 

"Where are you going?" Alec asked, not even turning around as he continued to examine his cards with a rather disbelieving gaze in his eyes. 

Tico didn't even know how the bassist knew he was standing up, but didn't bother by asking. "I gotta use the bathroom." He answered. 

"Oh!" David looked up. "Can you - " 

"No." Tico turned around and didn't look back. 

"Oh, please! C'mon, man, I'm starving." David shuffled around in his chair, as if to further signify his supposed hunger. 

Tico opened the bathroom door. "No." He said, before stepping into the small room and shutting the door, just in time to drown out David's further pleas. 

With a weary sigh that seemed to come from deep within his soul, Tico rested his hands on the rim of the sink and stared into the mirror at his messy hair and the black shadows underneath his eyes. They'd been on tour non-stop ever since their big breakthrough, and Tico liked it, don't get him wrong - he loved playing on the stage, he loved being able to do what he loved, and he loved playing with the guys, but it was all so exhausting. 

Not to mention having to sit on a tour bus for 10+ hours a day, listening to David gripe and groan about how his dice had rolled under the seats and mysteriously disappeared and Alec fashion another pair out of construction paper and Jon coughing up a lung and Richie asking about, if Jon ended up dying, if he could shack it up with their replacement singer and then Jon attempting to murder him. 

There were different levels of chaos - normal chaos, slightly above average chaos, apocalyptic chaos, and then the sort of chaos that came with being part of Bon Jovi. 

Tico supposed that he should've expected it and been used to it by now, but nothing could ever prepare you for feeling like you're married to four other guys and not even being able to take a goddamn shower without having to amend hurt feelings or find somebody's shoe. 

Nothing could ever also prepare you, on that note, for the entire bus that you're on to suddenly feel like it'd been hit by a missile, and for the screeching of metal to take over all of your senses. 

As suddenly as anything, Tico was propelled backwards and into the wall, his back connecting painfully with the towel rod, and then gravity forced Tico onto his stomach on the ground before sliding against the wall like an inanimate plaything. 

The bus shook and groaned, and it seemed like time had slowed down, allowing for some degree of controlled chaos. Tico's ears were ringing, and his eyesight was blurry as the world finally stopped moving, and he could stare at the wall, trying to process what the fuck had just happened. 

Tico groaned and shoved himself into a sitting position, blinking, dazed, trying to figure things out. He rubbed the small of his back where the metal had jabbed into his skin, and then it hit him - ' _The bus crashed.'_

The conclusion was unpleasant, yet oddly fitting. 

Judging by how things had suddenly gone topsy-turvy, Tico judged that the bus had flipped, too, onto its side, and then the initial disbelief was replaced by a strange combination to terror for the position that he'd suddenly been thrust into, and concern for his friends. 

It took a moment to clear his head, and for the haze to go away enough, that Tico was able to take a deep breathe. " _Hello?!"_ He yelled out, his heart thundering in his chest, fear joining his other emotions like some sick competition. 

Nobody answered. 

Tico was a calm man - controlled, usually unemotional.

But his heart was pounding and Tico had a bad feeling and the bus had flipped and if anything had happened to his friends, then there would be no going back. 

" _Is anybody there?!"_ Tico yelled out again, praying that his voice just hadn't been heard, but nobody answered, and Tico felt sick, so he put his head between his knees and took a few desperate, deep breaths, reassuring himself that his boys were probably fine, that they were just in too much of a panic. 

And yet, Tico felt his fear multiply, as he looked up at the closed door that hovered above his head tauntingly. The sight was cruel. Tico knew that, if he hadn't gone into the bathroom in order to get some silence, from David, especially, then he would be out there, and he could start assessing the damage, not be trapped with no way of knowing about so many things. 

Tico shut his eyes, counted backwards from five, and took a deep breathe, telling himself to just calm down. 

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years - time seemed to blend together into an unrecognizable mass. Tico didn't have his watch, and couldn't tell how much time passed as he sat there, listening to the bus moan and creak, and fearing for the boys' lives and his own. He was scared, but deep down, something told Tico that it would be okay. 

And yet, he sat, listening to his own breathing and wondering if the bus would blow up. 

What a way to go. 

Suddenly, there was the sound of talking, no - arguing, and then the sound of somebody laughing sarcastically. Footsteps echoed on the door. "Hello?" Tico said, praying to God that this was all an incident with no permanent consequences, that they were all alive, and that they would be able to get to him. 

"Just give us a minute!" A blessedly familiar voice yelled back. 

And Tico did, clamping his mouth shut as he waited like a patient child for the door handle to turn, and then the door opened. There was a flicker of a moment where there was only silence, and then Alec's face appeared. "Are you okay?" Alec asked, balancing awkwardly on the edge. 

"Yeah." Tico hoped so, anyways. "How about you and the other four?" He felt a terrible lurch of fear in his stomach at those words. 

"We're okay." Alec risked a smile. "Let's get you up here, yeah?" 

Tico nodded, now seeing that there was somebody behind Alec, holding his shirt so that the bassist didn't fall, but Tico couldn't tell who it was. There was the distant sound of footsteps again, and then Richie appeared. He looked down, grinned, and raised his hand, waving. "This is some way, huh?" 

"You bet." Tico said, chuckling softly. 

"Okay, I'm gonna reach down, and you're gonna take my hand, and we're gonna all pull you up." Alec said. "And then we'll figure out of we should kill Doc now or later." He added. 

Tico frowed. "What'd Doc do?" He asked. 

"I think the proper question is, 'what did Doc _not_ do'?" Richie grabbed Alec by the back of his shirt, adding to the relay line as Alec carefully leaned into the bathroom, his body shaking with the effort, hand outstretched. Tico cursed his rather diminutive height as he stretched up, and barely managed to grab Alec's hand, but he did, anyways, so that's all that mattered. 

"I'm afraid to ask." Tico said, grabbing onto Alec's arm for extra support as he was slowly pulled up. 

"You should be." Jon remarked dryly as he grabbed Tico by the back of his shirt and hauled him onto the floor - or was it wall? Tico didn't know, and he didn't actually find himself caring as he looked around at the rest of the guys, all of whom were looking back, remarkably calm despite having just been in a bus accident. 

Everybody was there, except for - 

"Where's Dave?" Tico asked, his fear slowly returning. 

"I'm right here!" David yelled, and Tico turned around to see the blonde sitting on the aisle, his right arm cradled against his chest. "Jon said that if I moved, then he was gonna break my other arm." 

"Damn right." Jon muttered. 

Tico winced, but reminded himself to be glad, because they were all there, and they were all alive. The side of Jon's face had blood streaked on his skin from a small wound, and Richie had a bruise on his temple, but everybody was safe, even if just for a moment. 

Thankfully, Alec looked relatively unharmed. "The driver is outside." He said, inspecting a paper cut on the side of his hand. "Doc went with him." 

"What happened?" Tico asked, looking around and marveling at the fact that they really were on the side. The perspective was rather dizzying, but Tico attributed the nausea that was creeping up on him to simple nerves and the fact that he'd been tossed around the bathroom for a few seconds. 

"The bus flipped, obviously." Richie snickered, and Jon rolled his eyes. 

Alec sighed. "Well, our dear old driver fell asleep at the wheel." 

"And there's a lot of animals around these parts." Jon added. 

Richie put on a straight face. "So we think that he must've fallen asleep and then swerved to avoid a deer or some shit like that, but it was too quick and the bus went - " He made a flipping motion with his hands in the air. 

"So what does Doc have to be sorry for?" Tico asked, his brain scrambling to process the information. 

"For hiring a lousy driver that he knew was lousy but didn't listen to us about because he's a _hard-headed asshole with a Napoleon complex!"_ Alec raised his voice on the last half, probably to be heard from the outside, and then he cleared his throat. "Anyways, we can't dwell on the bad. We need to start thinking." 

Jon raised his hand. "Shouldn't we get outside first? I don't trust this thing not to blow." He pointed to the bus. 

"Good point." Alec stood up and brushed off his jeans. "Let's go then." He kicked the door shut, and it thumped unpleasantly. 

"Can you walk?" Richie asked to David, who was struggling to get to his feet with the use of only one of his arms. 

"Yeah, I just can't - ow." David huffed and walked toward them, looking quite upset. "This sucks." He said. 

Tico stood up, examine himself and checking for injuries, but besides his headache, and his aching back, there was nothing wrong. He was lucky for so many things, but especially because he hadn't hit his head on the sink - that would've given him a concussion, and only complicated things. He reached out and pat David's back reassuringly. "I know." He said. "But we're all alive, and there's nothing seriously wrong with any of us, so we should be grateful." 

"Says you." David looked down at his arm. 

Richie was the tallest person who had the use of both his arms and, as such, was the one who was deemed the person who would boost everybody up and out the door. He cleared his throat, cracked his neck, and then got on one knee. "Let's do this." Richie bounced his leg and eagerly looked at them. "Who's going first?" 

"David is." Alec said. 

Jon wiped his sleeve alongside his face to get rid of some of the blood. "You gotta go first, though." He said. "Dave can't pull himself up." 

Alec did go first, and although it took a few moments ("Don't drop me!" "But you're squirming!") He did manage to pull himself up, and then his face reappeared in the opening. "Send him up." He said, pulling away, but his hands appeared after a moment, fingers wriggling in invitation. 

David walked foward, and after a tense moment where he couldn't keep his balance and almost fell, Alec managed to grab onto him and pull him up. David scrambled for stability, his legs disappearing into the cold dusk air, but he lingered near Alec, who bent down for the next person. 

"You go ahead." Jon said. 

"Nah, go on." Tico replied. 

"Why not?" Jon asked. 

Tico pulled a face, wondering if he was about to be called 'crazy' or something, but knowing that it was the right thing to do. "Manners." He said. "And I gotta grab something." 

"What?" Richie asked. 

"My watch." Tico answered. 

"Oh, for fuck - I'll buy you a new one!" Alec shouted. 

Tico waved it away. "I need to figure out what time it is." He replied, carefully making his way back into the bus. It was all one huge mess, but Tico knew that he needed to know what time it was if they were to have some semblance of success. It was slowly getting darker outside, and Tico wasn't sure about how isolated they were.

The last time he'd checked, they weren't exactly near civilization. 

It was hard to find such a small object in the mess that was the inside of the bus, but Tico was determined as he rooted through it. The cards that Dave and Alec had been playing were skewed by the floor, and the sight was strangely sobering. 

"There you are." Tico whispered, bending down and retrieving the watch as it shined in the faint light, glinting from underneath a book that'd fallen over it. He grabbed it and clasped it back over his wrist, straightening up and walking back to where the rest of them were. 

Richie was still there, shifting around a little uncomfortably. "Are you ready?" He asked, cupping his hands again. Tico was a little nervous, but it was all over and done with in a little less than a minute. Alec was leaning over, and Tico grabbed onto his hands and he was pulled up. 

"Thanks." Tico muttered, his heart beating a little faster in his chest. 

The cold air felt like icy needles in his lungs and throat, but it was a welcome escape from the stuffy air of the bus. Tico sat, glancing around at the road, realizing that they were surrounded by rows and rows of trees that were so close together that not even a single ray of dying sunlight could peek through. They were isolated, far away from anybody and everybody, and that was even more terrifying than the crash itself. 

Doc and the driver, Bryce, were meandering on the road, with Bryce bent over, hands on his knees, vomiting into the bushes, and Doc was alternating between patting him roughly between the shoulder blades and walking in circles a few feet away, his hands on his hips. 

A moment later, Richie joined them, scrambling for purchase before Alec and Jon managed to pull him up, and there they sat, strangely out of breathe and with the aftereffects of shock running through their bodies like an electrical current. 

"Okay, let's go." Alec eventually said, continuing his position as the leader of the situation, which Tico appreciated, because his thoughts were jumbled, like a bunch of uncertain words with no end nor beginning. 

David looked up at the sky, a deep frown marring his usually playful face. "It's gonna get dark soon." He said, like that was all that mattered, and it probably was, once they considered that it was cold enough already, and the sun was still up. 

"I know." Tico replied, looking down to the ground, carefully arranging his legs underneath his body before pushing himself off. The impact made Tico's knees buckle under his weight, and he fell with a grunt onto his knees, steadying himself with his hands. Tico felt the skin on his hands break open when the gravel connected with them, and grit his teeth to bite back a whimper. 

Only seconds later, Jon appeared, landing a little bit more gracefully, only stumbling slightly before straightening up. "You okay?" He asked, shaking his hair out of his face. 

"Yeah." Tico answered, getting fully onto his feet. 

"I'm coming down!" Richie announced, and then he came down, stumbling on impact and falling to his knees before shoving himself back up. 

Tico sniffed, suddenly realizing that he could smell gasoline, and his heart lurched unpleasantly, making him gasp. He didn't know a lot about cars, didn't know shit about what made them blow up - but the whole line of events seemed to match up. "We need to hurry up." He said, the relaxation dawning on him like the rising sun. " _Now."_

"Okay. David's coming." Alec replied, and judging by the sudden frigidness of his voice, he smelt it too. 

Jon stepped foward quickly, steadying David as he came down, preventing him from falling. Alec came barely a split second after, already shoving Tico foward and away from the bus. 

The smell of gasoline was stronger, more prominent now, as if it'd been waiting for what must've been thirty minutes, but now couldn't wait any longer. Despite the sudden reality of their terrible situation, Tico was grateful that it'd waited so long, that at least everybody was alive. 

"Into the trees!" Richie yelled out, starting Doc from his seeming daze. 

"What?" Doc yelled back, either having suddenly lost hit hearing, or he'd hit his head in the crash. 

Bryce reared his head, eyes wide. 

"It's gonna blow up!" Jon elaborated. 

They made it into the trees, ducking into the foliage. 

Tico didn't know if Doc and the driver listened to their instructions, he really didn't, not in that moment, anyways, because he couldn't give a single damn to them, a fragile moment in time that he couldn't spend on anybody. 

As they ducked down, Tico could feel David's heart pounding against his body. 

"Cover your heads!" Tico yelled out. 

Not a minute after those words passed his lips and came into existence, their world was temporarily enveloped in fire. 

The sound of the bus exploding was louder than anything that Tico had ever heard before - he had played drums for years, and endured the sound of vocalists screaming in his earpiece, but this was on a whole 'nother level. Tico felt like his head was being shaken back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and he slammed his hands over his ears, even though it really didn't help. 

A moment later, there was the sound of shrapnel landing in the trees, and falling down. Tico grabbed David's head and forced him down, covering his own head with his other arm, praying that nobody got hit, still hearing nothing but the sound of shrapnel beyond the ringing in his ears. 

_One minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, five minutes._

Whether or not so long had actually passed was a question within itself, because the idea of glancing at his watch was beyond Tico at this point. But he did look up, glancing around. 

There was a steady fire, one that seemed to rage like it came from Satan himself, ready to wreck havoc. 

Richie and Jon were laying on their stomachs near a fallen tree - Richie looked up and gave Tico a thumbs-up of reassurance. Jon was looking elsewhere, frowning intensely. 

"Is everybody okay?" Alec yelled from where he was crouched down a few feet away from Tico and David, sticking one of his fingers in his ear, presumably to try and stop the ringing - a futile attempt, but harmless. 

"Yeah." Tico yelled back. 

"You're bleeding." David said, poking Tico in the arm, where there was a small cut from where one of the sticks had broken and scratched him. 

Doc huffed as he came into view. "What the _fuck_ was that?!" He yelled out. 

"I believe that it was an explosion." Bryce replied in a dry tone from a few feet to the left. 

And despite everything that'd just happened, Tico laughed. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Tuesday, 6:30 PM**

"Okay, guys." Alec said, pulling twigs from his hair and tossing them aside and onto the ground. Dried leaves crunched underneath his boots as he walked toward the road, staring at what remained of the bus - broken pieces of metal and bright orange flames that seemed to crawl up towards the sky. "I think we should build a fire." He announced. 

Doc looked up, one half of his face twisting unpleasantly. "No shit, Sherlock." He replied, most of his patience seemingly having disappeared and been replaced by the guy he became when the bands got rowdy and he had to go gather them again to make sure that nobody died, which was a surprisingly common occurrence. 

Never one to take a fight standing down, Alec whirled around on Doc like an angry lion. "Last I checked, MgHee, you were the one who kinda got us in this mess in the first goddamn place." He snarled. 

"How? By hiring a driver? I didn't know that he was a fucking idiot." Doc said, standing up and awkwardly leaning against a tree. There was a bloodstain on one of his pants' legs, and it appeared to be paining him. 

Bryce scoffed. "Yeah, okay, blame me." He said, rolling his eyes. 

"Okay, okay, _stop."_ Richie quickly intervened, sticking out one of his hands, as if to prevent Alec from committing murder in the first degree. "We can't start fighting."

Tico raised his hand from his spot on the fallen tree log. "Is this road popular?"

"What do you mean?" Doc asked, his eyebrows furrowing down, looking deeply confused, as if this was some cryptic question that he'd never heard before nor knew the answer of. 

"No." Bryce replied. "Nobody comes here. It's a - a _shortcut."_ He licked his dried lips and then looked away, as if to avoid the piercing gazes that were being directed at him by five angry musicians who had just narrowly escaped an exploding bus. 

"So, shouldn't we get walking?" David asked, perking up, as if the words had put some fire back into his body. He had been resting against a tree, cradling his arm.

"Um, no." Jon appeared, and Tico blinked, startled, having not realized that the blonde had left in the first place. "It actually takes much longer than the regular road." He held up a map. 

"Where'd you get that?" Alec asked, walking over and grabbing the map, inspecting it closely. His eyes were narrowed, and his lips pressed tightly in anger, words that he didn't trust could be said. 

Jon crossed his arms, almost defensively. "I grabbed it on the way out of the bus, but dropped it when we smelled gasoline." He answered. 

After a moment of examining the map, Alec huffed. "Well, good navigation skills, professor genius. Now we're much farther than we should be from civilization." 

" _But,_ we're not lost." Tico hurriedly said. 

"Small blessings, huh?" David added, looking between them all, as if for agreement to his statement. 

Richie shivered. "Let's make a fire. It's cold, it's gonna get dark." He said, and then he gazed out toward the bus. "And all we have are the clothes on our backs." 

"At least we have jackets on." Bryce said, but nobody looked at him, even if they did agree with the words. He was at least partially responsible for the mess, and wouldn't get out so easily. 

"Won't someone see the fire?" David said suddenly. "A helicopter, maybe?" 

They all fell silent in contemplation to those words, suddenly struck by the implications. "If it's in a flight zone, sure." Tico eventually said. 

"We probably are." Richie said. 

"But might not." Alec added. 

Jon bent down and grabbed a stick. "So, are we gonna do this the old-fashioned way, or are we gonna just go and borrow some fire?" He jabbed his thumb towards the bus, as if they all couldn't see it, couldn't smell it, couldn't still hear the ringing in their ears. 

"Be careful." Alec said. "Let's make some - what is it called?" 

"Kindling." David replied. "Jon and I were in the bear scouts. Remember, Jonny?" 

Already halfway across the road, Jon didn't care to look back. "Unfortunately." 

David was grinning. "Yeah. But we didn't know each other yet." 

Already, the sky was growing dark, and shadows seemed to jump out from the woods like lurching monsters from an old movie. Tico frowned, standing up and making his way towards the rest of the group, thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his jeans. "We're doomed, aren't we?" Alec whispered, gazing up towards the sky, looking solemn. 

"Don't say shit like that. We're gonna be fine." Tico replied, but the words were false and heavy, because he didn't know that for sure. 

"We can't be that far from civilization." Alec said as he pulled out the map again from where he'd tucked it into his pocket. "But we don't know which part of the road that we're on. We don't know if this is a flight path. Hell, this may not be the exact road - maybe Bryce took us onto a road that isn't on here." He looked up and looked around. 

"We need to look at David's arm." Tico said as his eyes fell on the blonde, who seemed to be taking great joy in telling Richie what to do for the fire. 

"You gotta do that." Alec replied. "I'm squeamish. God knows that I'll just make things worse. Jon could help you, he has some medical knowledge." He paused, biting his bottom lip, as if in thought. 

Tico raised his eyebrow. "What?" He prompted. 

"Nothing." Alec dismissed suddenly, turning around and walking away. 

Doc was meandering a ways away, seeming to be too caught up with himself to do anything else. In a way, Tico was glad, because he was a damned idiot and probably wouldn't be much help, anyways, but it also made Tico angry, because everybody was making an effort - Hell, even Bryce was making himself useful with the fire - but no, Doc couldn't push away his pride for five goddamn minutes.

Somehow, Richie, Jon and David had managed to come together and make a fire in a small clearing that was devoid of leaves and anything else that could catch fire and potentially give them more trouble than it was worth. 

A gust of wind came and went, making Tico shiver as he pulled his jacket closer around his torso. The ringing in his ears was just beginning to clear up, but the silence wasn't any better. "I think we should get some sleep." He finally said. "We need to start hiking by daybreak." 

Alec groaned as he sat down and pulled off of his shoes. "Sounds good to me." 

The sad truth was, however, that they'd gone several miles, and their last sign of anybody else had been a crumbling little gas station with nobody to manage it. A small part of Tico hoped that the clerk had just been somewhere else, but he knew that reality was a cruel mistress, and that he had long been dead and buried and his pride and joy now being eaten by nature. 

"I can't believe any of this happened." Richie muttered as he sat down beside Alec and gazed out toward the tree line, eyes dark as they observed every shudder of the bushes, every noise that came from the unmentionable places. 

Jon was rubbing his face with the sleeve of his jacket, trying to get some of the blood off is his face, looking determined despite the lack of water making it hard for the dried blood to so much as smear. "Hey." Tico said as he approached and awkwardly cocked his head toward David, who hadn't moved much after Richie had shooed him away from the fire. 

"Oh, he's gonna pitch a fit, you know that, right?" Jon had a way of looking at people that always seemed to make it like he knew what was going on in the intimate ways, and Tico hated it, because it made him feel like he didn't have that privacy that he loved so much, but yet, the sight was comforting, in a strange way.

"Yeah." Tico sighed. "Do you know anything about breaks?" He asked. 

Jon shrugged. "The scouts taught me how to make a splint." He answered simply.

"Right, then. We should go and do it, we have a lot of things to do tomorrow." Tico loathed having to do this, but there wasn't anything that could be done. Jon nodded and followed Tico as they walked to the tree that David was leaning against, his eyes shut, but they popped open as soon as they got close. 

Overhead, dark clouds were beginning to gather, but if there would be rain, it would be a light one.

"Hi, guys." David said, straightening up. 

Jon crouched down. "How is your arm feeling?" He asked. 

"On a scale?" David tilted his head.

Smiling, Jon chuckled. "On a scale of you're gonna live or we need to get to a doctor 'cause you're gonna die?" 

David pretended to think about it. "At first I thought I was gonna die, but now I - I really can't feel it unless I move it." 

Which was what they were gonna have to do to give the arm some sort of treatment until they reached civilization, which could take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. 

"Move your other arm, then, so I can see it." Jon said, shifting around, the leaves crackling under his boots. 

David obliged, and he moved the other arm away, but the sleeve of his jacket was covering most of the break, revealing only his hand, which was clenched tightly in a fist. 

For a moment, Jon only stared at the arm, and then he said. "Don't hate me." 

As if that would be enough preparation, Jon reached over and slowly began to peel the sleeve back as another gust of wind hit them. Jon blew his hair out of his face, wincing apologetically as David bit his lip and looked away. Tico fell into a crouch beside Jon, realizing that his standing position would do no good. 

"Well, that's not so bad." Jon said when he finally managed to get the sleeve out of the way. "At least the bone is still in your skin." 

Tico looked at him, eyebrows quirked. " _Really?"_ He said. 

With a shrug, Jon looked back down at the arm. "But a break is a break." He added soon afterwards. 

David huffed. "Thanks, Doc." He drawled, pulling the words from the back of his throat, as if having a hard time with them. He looked down at his arm, and unclenched his fist. Tico could see half-moon indentations from where David's nails had bitten into his skin. 

"Where does it hurt?" Jon asked. 

Vaguely, David motioned from his shoulder and then down to his actual arm, which had swelled to a much bigger size and, far from its usual color, was blotchy, with dark bruises peppered across his skin. "All over. And then it went tingly." 

"Tingly?" Tico repeated. 

"Yeah. Like when your foot falls asleep." David elaborated. 

"Right. Well." Jon cleared his throat, seeming to prepare himself for the inevitable, but he took a deep breathe, anyways. "We need to set it. It'll hurt like a son of a bitch, but afterward, it won't hurt so much." He replied. "And then - Tico, can you go ask Richie to find two sticks, half an inch thick or so, that are the length of his arm, and some padding? And we need anything that can like, tie around, like shoelaces." 

Tico was glad that he wouldn't be there when Jon set the break, because he didn't think that he could handle that, so he quickly made his way back over to the rest of the group. Doc was nowhere to be found and Bryce was tending to the fire, although Tico wasn't sure what good he was actually doing. Alec was picking splinters from the palm of his right hand and Richie to nearby, tossing rocks at one of the trees. "Rich!" Tico called out. "Jon says that he needs two twigs that sre half an inch thick and as long as your arm, whatever padding that you can find, and shoelaces or something similar!" 

"Well, I can help you there." Alec had put his shoes back on, but he bent over them and began to pull the laces from their holes. 

"You bet." Richie said, standing up and walking around their small camp, looking for any twigs. 

With that done, Tico walked back over to Jon, who was saying something, and looked at David, whose face had gone pale. "That hurt much more than you said it would." He said softly, in an accusatory tone. 

"Well, sorry. I haven't been on the receiving end of it, Dave, so I don't know what it feels like." Jon replied. "Is he looking?" He asked to Tico as he came closer. 

Tico nodded. "Should I be glad that I left?" 

"You could hear it snap, so, yeah." Jon pat David's knee. "You can go ahead and rest up, Teek. When Richie comes back then I'll make the splint and head back over." He said. 

Frowning, Tico glanced over toward camp, and then down at Jon. "Are you sure?"

Jon nodded. "It's fine. I'll just ask Richie or Alec if I need help. You deserve some rest." 

There was no point arguing over Jon with such a small thing, especially since he had probably long made his mind up, so Tico nodded, gave David's arm a glance, and walked back over to Alec, who was beginning to doze off against a tree. It was hardly a comfortable-looking spot, but it was better than nothing.

It was better than them being dead. 

Bryce was still poking at the fire, which highlighted the dark shadows underneath his eyes. His hat was pulled low over his face, but Tico could still see the wretched look on the other man's face. "Don't do that." He said as he sat down. 

"Okay." Bryce agreed, like it was really that simple. 

Maybe it was. 

Even though Alec was snoring and Tico could feel pine needes poking through his clothes and digging into his skin, he was exhausted, and the darkness was alluring, like a mirage in the desert. Tico glanced at his watch and took note of the time, deciding that they had to be up as soon as possible in order to begin what would likely be a lon hike. 

The tree was hard, but Tico couldn't bring himself to care as he rested against it. 

Doc was still gone, but Tico knew that he wouldn't be far - probably on the road, anyways. He wouldn't wander away from the group, where it was warm and somewhat safe. 

Minutes passed. 

Through his half-lidded gaze, hazy as it was, Tico could see Richie appear, and he sat Down against the log, shifting around uncomfortably, dried leaves crumbling underneath his body. Jon walked into view and, after a moment of hesitancy, sat down, too. 

David came into Tico's line of sight after a second or two passed, and he sat down at the end of the log, like a relay line. His arm was a splint, but he was still cradling it close. 

Richie was the first to lay down and go to sleep, followed closely by David. 

But, with that being said, Jon remained awake, laying down but his eyes wide, like saucers. He was looking out towards the trees, maybe trying to figure out where their manager had gone off to. For a split second and a lingering minute, Tico's eyes met with bright blue, and a silent understanding seemed to come into place, as if their thoughts joined and connected. 

It didn't take much longer for Tico to fall asleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Tuesday, 3:05** **AM**

Richie was dreaming of his parents' house and freshly-baked cookies when he felt somebody hit his shoulder with a closed fist. 

"Mhm. Go 'way." Richie slurred, batting the hand away, not keen on waking up and going back to reality quite so soon. He sniffed and went to bury his face into his pillow, but instead of soft feathers, his face grated against something sharp and rough. He grunted, wondering where his pillow had gone off to. Richie didn't know and really didn't care. 

Another hand hit his shoulder. " _Wake up."_ A quiet, but nonetheless demanding voice hissed, followed by another hit. The voice was familiar in a pleasant way, but Richie didn't know how. 

After a moment, the voice sighed, and then Richie felt his ear being twisted. 

"Ow, fuck!" Richie lurched into a sitting position, but those same hands that'd been hitting him and twisting his ear just a few seconds ago were now holding him down to the best of their ability. It took Richie a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but then he opened his mouth, about to ask why he'd been woken up because it was too early to go hiking, but one of the hands slapped over his mouth. 

Richie recognized the person at last. "Jon?" He said, even though his voice was muffled and effectively useless. The memories of the day before came back slowly, like they were going through molasses in their attempt to return to their rightful home. 

"Stop talking." Jon whispered, his eyes wide, blonde strands of hair hanging in his face. "Be quiet." He readjusted his grip on Richie's mouth, but then pulled away a minute later. 

To say that Richie was confused was quite the understatement, because he had no idea What was going on, and no idea why he was being told to not talk and to be quiet in the middle of the night in the wilderness. Richie looked over Jon's shoulder and saw that David was also awake, but he was staring at something near the fire, his legs drawn up towards his chest, looking frightened. Richie followed David's line of sight, and felt like his heart had stopped beating. 

There, standing near the fire, was a lumpy mass of fur, and that mass was meandering around, his claws glinting in the fire light, grunting loudly. His eyes were like big brown beatles, and his ears were perked up, like Richie's parents' dog always did when somebody called his name. 

"Oh, my God." Richie whispered, his voice nearly inaudible as he stared, his heart suddenly going a million miles per hour, threatening to make a prison break from behind his ribcage. The only time that he'd ever seen a bear was at the zoo, where both of them were behind several inches of glass, and harmless to each other. 

Richie had always been fascinated by them, but now, he felt like he was about to pass out. But yet, he couldn't, and so he half-turned his head to Jon. "What do we do?" He asked, not caring about being quiet, because the bear already knew that they were there, didn't they? They were only a foot or so across from each other, after all. 

"Don't run." Jon whispered. "They'll think that you're prey." 

To Richie's right, he could see that Tico was still asleep, and Alec was, too, but their driver and Doc were mysteriously absent. A small part of Richie wondered if the bear had gotten them, but he shoved those thoughts away, knowing that they weren't any use, anyways. 

The bear grunted and started sniffing the ground, maybe catching their scent, maybe smelling something else. 

"What if he charges at us?" Richie asked. 

Jon didn't move his head away from the bear. "You're supposed to stand your ground." He replied, and then he started to move. 

Jumping forward, Richie grabbed Jon by his arm and pulled him back, just before he could get more than an inch or two away. "Are you fucking crazy? There's a bear right there." He said, as if Jon hadn't seen this before he had. 

"We have to wake Tico and Alec up." Jon replied, still not turning his head. "When they wake up, they'll panic." 

Richie could feel Jon shaking underneath his grip, and in that moment, he made a decision. "Then I'll go and do it, then." He said. 

"You move so much a muscle, and I'll knock you unconcious." Jon snapped. 

"Hypocrite." Richie smiled. "No, you're right. I'll go do it." 

"No, you absolutely are not. You're clumsy." Jon replied, trying to disguise his obvious concern behind a shield of irritation. 

"Guys..." David whispered, and both of then turned around to see that the bear was starting to make his way back toward the trees. His gait was lumbering, and went back-and-forth as he walked away, puffing heavily as he went. Before anybody could react, he disappeared back into the tree line, and the sound of his steps faded away. 

For a minute, all anybody could do was stare after the bear, unsure if he was going to come running back, or if he was gone for good. Richie let go of his tight grip on Jon's arm, and slowly crawled across the distance that separated Tico and Alec from the rest. Somehow, they'd slept through the whole ordeal, but there was no guarantee that they'd do it again. 

Richie grabbed Tico and shook him. "Wake up, man. C'mon, you need to wake up."

With a mumbled curse, Tico opened his eyes, blinking, dazed, looking around the camp, as if refreshing his memory as to how he ended up there. "What is it? It's too dark to go now." He said, rubbing his head. 

"There was a bear." Jon said, standing up and carefully making his way over towards Alec. "A big fucker, too." 

Tico jolted, as if the words had just given him life. "What?" He hissed, looking towards the trees. "Where did it go?" 

"Back into the trees." Richie answered. "Where he'll stay, if I have anything to say about it." 

Crouching down, Jon shook Alec awake, which took much longer than it had when it'd come to Tico. It seemed like Alec wasn't about to wake up until his eyes shot open like a bullet and he stared at Jon. "Is it time to get up already?" He asked, suddenly alert.

Jon shook his head. "There was a bear. He went back into the trees." He, with those words, glanced back over his shoulder but there was nothing but shadows to be seen beyond the darkness. 

"A _bear?_ Holy shit." Alec looked amazed by the news, more so than terrified, although he hadn't been the one to wake up face-to-face with it. 

"Guys." David suddenly said, glancing back towards the road. The fire had died down somewhat into a mere blaze. Richie wondered if it might've turned into a forest fire had the flames gotten close enough to the trees, and the thought made his heart begin to pound again. "Where's Doc and Bryce?" 

The question fell upon everybody like a thick blanket, and Richie's eyes widened with the implications of that. "They never came back to camp, did they?" He asked, looking between everybody. 

They had all assumed that Doc had just been wandering around nearby, and by the time that they'd all fallen asleep, Bryce had been by the fire. "When I fell asleep, Bryce was laying near that tree." Jon said, pointing to a tree at the other side of the fire. 

"Was he sleeping?" Alec asked. 

Jon nodded. "I thought so, anyways. Maybe he went to go find Doc, that idiot." 

"Oh, fuck, what if the bear ate them?" Alec didn't sound upset, only mildly surprised and somewhat irritated. "Or mauled them? _Ohmygod,_ what if we're blamed for their deaths?" 

Jon gave him a look, torn between amusement and exasperation. "Prioties." He said. "We would've heard them scream, anyways, 'Lec." 

Scoffing, Tico pushed himself into a sitting position. "Bears don't usually eat people who don't poke them." He paused, as if in thought, and then shook his head. "Oh, what am I saying? Doc probably tripped over it. Goddamn it, okay, let's go." He stood up. 

"Go where? Home?" Richie looked up, his eyebrows raised in faint curiosity. 

"No, we gotta find them." Tico answered. 

David shifted around uncomfortably. "I don't wanna be _that_ person but - what if we get eaten, too?" He asked. 

"They're probably just hiding in a tree or some shit like that." Tico dismissed. 

"And we have to suffer with them? How are we gonna find them if they're stuck up in a tree? We can't yell their names, otherwise Smokey is gonna find us, eat us, and then what?" Alec's desperate questions went placidly ignored as Tico stomped out the fire. "And why are we destroying the fire?" 

Tico straightened up. "Because it might get out of control and, by all likelihood, it'll be daylight by the time we find them, anyways." He sighed. "Does anybody want to stay behind? We'll come back if anybody wants to stay here." 

Despite whatever pros they're might've been at staying at the campsite, there was also some uncertainty regarding the idea of bring separated, and not to mention the bear coming back. Richie shook his head. "Nah, let's all stick together." He said, looking at everybody, all of whom were in agreement. 

"Yeah. If the bear comes back, then at least we can die together." Alec said. 

David looked a little reluctant, but he fell into step with everybody else as they began walking. "I don't have a good feeling about this." He mumbled. 

Neither did Richie, but he didn't think that anybody could live with themselves if they just left Doc and Bryce to - well, die, so he just slung his arm around Jon's shoulders and started walking, too. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Tuesday, 3:30 AM**

"How long have we been walking?" Alec asked. 

Tico hummed and glanced at his watch, squinting to see in the faint light provided by the moon. "About twenty minutes. I dunno. Either way, it hasn't been a long time." He stepped over a log and frowned into the darkness, hating how blind he was in the night. 

"Oh, great." Alec moaned, coming to a stop beside Tico, hands on his hips and chest rising and falling rapidly. "I don't wanna come across as a jerk, but, I can't help but wonder if Doc would come and look for _us."_

As much as Tico hated to admit that his friend had a point, he did have a good point, because Doc probably wouldn't come looking for them. So why was he risking his life and his friends' lives for some guy who didn't give a single fuck about them? Tico didn't know, and, maybe, he didn't want to know. "Dave? Are you doing okay?" He asked, instead of answering that unspoken question. 

David had been lagging behind significantly, and it took him a minute to catch up with where the rest of them had stopped amongst a small clearing of trees to catch their breaths. "Yeah." He said. "Just - tired." David looked up toward the black sky, frowning in a thoughtful manner. 

"They shouldn't have walked this far." Jon said. "They _couldn't_ have walked this far." He added after a moment of hesitation. 

Looking unsure, Richie nodded. "I agree. Why would they have went this far? Doc knows that we're the only people around. Bryce does, too!" He stuffed his hands inside of his pockets. "I don't want to say it." 

"Then don't." David mumbled. 

Jon sighed and ran one of his hands through his hair. "I will, then. What if the bear got them?" He raised his eyebrows and looked around. 

"Then we're in danger, too." Alec whispered. 

Hurriedly, Tico raised his hands, keen on not starting a panic before they'd even spend a full day out in the wilderness. "Don't start talking like that, all of you. They probably just went and got lost, okay? Maybe Doc needed to use the bathroom and Bryce went with him. But the point is that we all need to take a deep breathe, calm down, and make sure that we don't leave anybody behind." 

Richie sighed through his nose. "You're right." He muttered, looking down at his shoes and the dried leaves that lay beneath him. He took a deep breathe. "Let's keep walking." 

The cold air made Tico's lungs burn with every breathe, and he burrowed closer into his jacket, wishing that none of this had happened in the first place because being lost was one thing. But a _bear?_ He couldn't do this. Tico was a musician, a drummer, a man who had only ever spent two days camping prior to this situation. He wasn't a survivalist, he wasn't a outdoorsman, and neither were his band mates. 

They were all just five men, lost in an unfamiliar place, injured and cold but alive. 

But as they walked, and walked, and walked, Tico knew that he couldn't waste his time nor everybody's else's. Maybe Doc and Bryce had left them. Maybe the bear had gotten them. Maybe they were injured - Tico winced at the very thought, cringing at the imaginary. Having David hurt was one thing, but two other people?

"Five more minutes." Tico whispered, and nobody heard him. 

But then those five minutes passed, and Tico gave himself another ten minutes, trying to stall the inevitable. But they were just getting further from civilization, and he needed to be smart, he needed to look out for the best of their choices. 

Alec tilted his head to the sky. " _Doc! Bryce!"_ He yelled out. 

Pausing, Tico waited for an answer, words in the distance that would send them all running, but all he heard was the wind. "What if they went back to camp?" Jon asked, his voice strangely quiet. 

" _Doc!"_ Alec yelled again. " _Bryce!"_

Nobody replied - just the howling wind, like a lonely wolf, yearning for company. 

They all stood there, praying for a response, hoping that nobody would die on this fateful day. Tico didn't like Doc, and didn't even know Bryce, but he hoped to all heavens that they were okay. 

David shifted around. "What if Jon is right? Maybe they did go back to camp.' 

"And what if _they_ went looking for _us?"_ Alec said. 

Just as Alec said those words, there came a faint yell. " _Help! Help me!"_

"That's Bryce." David whispered. 

Richie paled. "Oh, God. Oh, fuck, fuck." He dragged his hands through his hair, dark eyes wide as he stared into the darkness, out toward the direction that the yell had come from. 

The air was suddenly full of tension, fear, worry, as Tico was left with the sudden decision. He was, seemingly, the leader, and left to make the decision of whether or not to go after him or just send a prayer to his soul. ' _God. Half a day out here and we've turned into savages?'_

"We can't leave him." David suddenly said. 

Alec waved his hand in the air, shaking his head. "You're injured and none of us have the slightest goddamn idea about what's going on! It's dark, none of us have medical supplies." His face softened. "But we can't leave him, no." 

" _Them."_ Tico corrected, making up his mind. "Okay, we're splitting up. Alec? You stay here with David. If you hear - things, anything that sounds bad, then get back to camp and make your way up the road. Richie, Jon, you two coming with me to find them." He fell silent, awaiting for the inevitable argument in response to his decision. 

But, nobody argued. 

"Okay." Richie agreed, and Jon nodded, perhaps too nervous to speak. 

David pressed his lips thinly together. "Don't be stupid." He said quietly, and that seemed to hold so much meaning for three little words. 

"Yeah." Alec hovered back, looking perhaps a little irritated that he was beinf left behind, but then he took a deep breathe and nodded. "If it's too much, then it's too much." 

Despite the enigmatic quality of Alec's words, Tico understood, and he went to nod in agreement when he suddenly heard something - soft, at first, almost gentle, like a leaf being blown by the wind. And then there was a distinct crunching noise, leaves being broken underneath weight, and Tico was about to figure that the bear was nearby when he turned his head. 

The tension in Jon's shoulders loosened. "Oh, jeez." He muttered. 

Doc stood there, a thin trickle of blood running down the side of his face, hands angled up and palm flat in the air, as if they had a gun to use on him. He looked terrified, reasonably so, Tico figured. 

"What happened?" Richie demanded harshly. 

Pressing a finger to his lips, Doc swallowed thickly. "Bryce got caught in a bear trap." He whispered. 

A moment passed, or perhaps two, Tico didn't know. "He got caught...in a bear trap?" He repeated, the words sounding weird when faced with the other events that'd happened. "Why aren't you with him?" 

"Because the _bear was there!"_ Doc hissed through gritted teeth. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the short chapter. I'm just so tired. I can't do this anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tuesday, 4:00**

The tension in the air seemed to get a whole lot worse. 

Richie felt a shiver run up his spine, and he slowly looked back to the area that the yells for help seemed to have come from. He didn't know what to do, what to think. If not for Bryce, then they wouldn't be in this situation, trapped in the woods where a huge bear lived and trying to figure out what the best way to survive was without giving into the basic human instincts. He clenched his fists and tried to ignore his anger - it wasn't worth it. 

"So, what's the plan, now?" Alec asked, hands on his hips, looking torn between anger and confusion. "Are we still gonna to and play rescuer for him?" He didn't sound so keen on the idea, especially now that there was a bear involved. 

"I don't think there's any other options." Tico replied, by even he sounded unsure of that. He frowned, and then sighed. "Doc, stay with Dave and Alec. You probably won't be any goddamm help, anyways." 

Doc scowled. "What did you expect me to do, Torres, pick up a stick and poke the thing in its eye?" He said, motioning into the air angrily. 

"No." Tico said quietly. "But I would think that you wouldn't wander off in the first place." He shook his head. 

Just as Doc opened his mouth to snap back with an equally heated reply, there came another yell - ' _Somebody help me!'_ Bryce sounded terrified, each word like a prayer to whatever God there may be to save him from his current situation. 

"Let's go." Tico said, glancing at Alec from out of the corner of his eye, seeing as the bassist's face contorted in worry. "Be safe, both of you." He added, careful to only look at Alec and David, and not at Doc, who was looking out toward the distance, undoubtedly scared. 

"I don't think that you should be the one saying that." Alec said. "Don't be stupid." 

Tico sighed, suddenly realizing how truly dumb that this plan was, but he couldn't just let Bryce sit out there until the bear came and finished him off, and neither could anybody else without living in guilt for the rest of their lives. Tico looked around, hoping for something - _anything -_ that could be used as a weapon, but there was nothing. "What do we do if the bear comes at us?" He asked. 

"Don't run." Jon said. 

"I can't imagine that that'll be easy not to do." Richie said, but he bent down and grabbed a stick, anyways, examining it with a faintly worried look on his face. "We should get going." 

And they did, walking over the small hill, grasping onto trees to pull themselves up along the way. Tico had no idea what he was expecting to see (although the darkness made it hard to do so), but he vaguely imagined that the bear would be involved somehow. 

If what Doc said was true, then Bryce would need help getting back to camp, and then what? Tico couldn't imagine how they would carry him to help. The idea was both amusing and preposterous at the same time, hard to believe at any stretch of imagination. 

"Hold on." Jon suddenly said, and a small, circular light popped on. 

Tico looked over his shoulder. "Where the hell did you get that?" He whispered. 

"Is that the one I gave you for your birthday?" Richie said, creeping into view. 

"Mhm." Jon hummed, holding the small penlight toward where Bryce's yells had been coming from, and although the light hardly pierced through the veil of darkness, it did allow for them to see what lay ahead a little better. 

Richie looked smug. "And I thought you forgot." He squinted. "Teek. Is that blood?" His voice grew quiet. 

Looking down at the dried leaves, Tico saw that, much to his horror, there were patches of blood, still wet, that stood out like a sore thumb from the dull browns and greens of the woods. His heart started to pound a little faster, and he swallowed thickly. "It's okay." He whispered, although he didn't know whether the placation was for him or the other two. 

The light wavered slightly, like Jon's hand was shaking. "Fuck." He said simply. 

Tico stepped foward, careful to stick next to the trees, listening for any sort of noise that came from the darkness. But, in the silence, Jon's breathing could be mistaken for Bryce's, and Richie's footsteps sounded like a bear coming from the darkness, and Tico wished that he could go back in time and stop this mess from ever happening. 

As they slowly walked into the night, however, another noise joined their symphony, and Tico felt his anxiety dissipate slightly, but not completely. 

Bryce came into view slowly, propped up on his hands, his legs stuck out in front of him. Blood drenched his jeans. His eyes were wide, pupils blown with unspoken fear. "He's here." Bryce whimpered. 

Although the implications of those words were there, Tico was more glad that they'd finally found Bryce. He glanced at his watch briefly, seeing that only five minutes or so had passed since they'd first set off into the night. "We know." He whispered back, walking toward the other man. "We're gonna get you out of here, okay?" Tico went to crouch down. 

"No, no, no...!" Bryce was breathless, perhaps from fear, maybe from pain. "He's here! Get out of here, go get help, save yourselves!" He tried to push Tico backwards, but the drummer was still too far away. "I won't be able to walk." 

Tico shook his head. "We're not leaving you here." He said, the determination strong in his voice. 

"Oh, fuck that, okay? Survival isn't about nobility or that shit, it's about _survival._ Go save yourself and the others." Bryce looked close to tears at this point. "I'm useless, now." 

"You're the one being noble, man." Richie said, coming into view and crouching down on Bryce's other side. "We need to hurry, Teek. There was something growling in the woods. _Growling."_ He glanced over his shoulder. 

"What? Shit." Tico groaned. "Did it sound big?" He looked down at Bryce's legs. 

Sure enough, there was a rusty bear trap clamped over Bryce's right foot, biting into his skin, piercing the denim. Tico didn't dare touch it, but was willing to bet that it was lodged pretty deep, and that it'd been there for awhile. That wasn't reassuring in the slightest, and Tico took a deep breathe. 

"What kind of question is that?" Richie said. "Let's just get going, okay?" 

" _How?"_ Jon said. 

Tico sighed. "Richie has to grab him underneath his arms, and I'll get his legs, which is gonna be tough. Jon? You'll have to go on ahead." 

Nobody answered him - no repeats of affirmation, no nods or anything, just the cold silence. Tico frowned, looking up, and catching sight of Bryce's face, feeling his blood run cold at the sight of wide eyes the size of saucers. Richie was looking over Tico's head at something that, perhaps, wasn't so mysterious. 

The sound of heavy breathing could be heard, like a man who had run several miles and had many more to go. Tico could feel Jon's hand brush up against his shoulder. "Don't move." Jon whispered, his voice like a fragile piece of glass. 

Jon's advice seemed sound, so Tico crouched there, his back complaining about the present position that he was in, hearing the bear as it breathed heavily behind him, and wondering if he was about to die. Tico wished that he could see the bear, at least, and watch as it ran toward him instead of having his back toward the thing while it ran at him. 

Without his watch in sight, Tico couldn't tell how much time had passed, but an eternity seemed to go by while they stood there. Tico wanted to ask what the bear was doing, but didn't dare open his mouth. He could feel his heart doing somersaults, could see Richie stare at the bear, and Bryce shaking underneath his touch. 

"He's moving." Jon whispered. 

Leaves crunched underneath the heavy weight as the bear began to walk, and his shadow grew bigger. Tico tensed when he felt fur brush up against his back as the bear casually, almost lackadaisically, walked around, puffing air from its mouth noisily. 

Richie's eyes widened and he leaned backward, away from the bear, when it came close to him, but the bear didn't seem to interested as he walked to the trees on the other side of the small clearing. Bryce looked terrified, and Tico wanted to tell him that it would be okay, but he had a right to feel that way, moreso than the rest of them did, because he couldn't run if push came to shove. 

At that thought, Tico winced. 

The bear weaved between the trees and disappeared, not once looking at them, and Tico wasn't sure about if that was good or not. He crouched there, tense and stiff, unsure if he could move or not. "Okay." He finally whispered. "Let's hurry - " 

Just as suddenly as anything, a flurry of movement appeared, and the bear came rumbling from the trees. He was running, eyes intent and dark. The bear's mouth opened in a roar, teeth glinting in the night. Time seemed to fly by in slow motion, and all Tico could hear was the blood rushing through his brain before it registered that there was a goddamn furry death machine running towards him. 

Tico grabbed Bryce and tossed them both towards the ground, sticks and leaves cutting into their skin, instinct taking over reason. Tico could feel his heart thundering, his breathe coming out in pants, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his head with his arms because he didn't want to die, goddamnit. 

A minute passed, and all was silent. 

The air was tense, unbroken. 

Slowly, Tico turned his head and peeked out from his arms, only seeing the dark night air, his ribcage throbbing with the effort his heart was going through. ' _So much for standing your ground.'_ He thought, and Tico nearly burst out laughing from the sheer incredulity of it all. 

Bryce was still on the ground, eyes shut tightly. 

Despite the certain risk involved, Tico took a deep breathe and pushed himself up into a sitting position. The bear was gone, having presumably disappear back into the trees, where he would stay, hopefully. Tico looked around, praying to see Jon and Richie, wishing for more than anything that the bear hadn't gotten them, but reasoning told him that they were fine. 

A coughing noise caught Tico's attention, and he turned to see Richie, spitting out whatever had gotten into his mouth. "Ugh, gross." Richie said, picking something off of his tongue, making a face. 

"Jon?" Tico said quietly. 

Richie blinked and straightened up, looking around. "Oh, fuck. Jon? _Jon?!"_

A small part of Tico almost shushed him, but it was useless anyways. He stood up, too, looking around for any signs of the singer. "Jon!" He called out, figuring that the bear was probably going to come back, anyways. 

"I'm here, I'm fine." A voice said, and Tico whirled around, frowning, until he realized where the voice was coming from. He walked foward a few feet and realized that Jon was behind a tree, shaking his head rather dazedly. 

"So much for staying, huh?" Richie laughed rather nervously, ambling over and helping Jon back up. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I'm exhausted right now. I tried.

**Tuesday, 4:58 AM**

Alec could feel his heart pound so fast that it hurt as he stared up at the hill, eyes dark and weary, wondering what the hell they'd all gotten themselves into. He picked at a small cut on the back of his hand and bit his lip, unable to tear his away away. 

"It shouldn't be taking them this long, should it?" Doc whispered, fidgeting like a nervous squirrel. His shirt was torn, and there was a cut on the side of his head from earlier. The blood was smeared on his jacket sleeve from where he'd been wiping it. "We should just get moving." He shifted around slightly. 

"Be quiet." Alec snapped, trying to keep his calm. "Bryce is injured. They're probably just having a hard time." He hoped so, anyways. Alec forced himself to take a deep breathe as his heart began to race, his anxiety threatening to leap through the roof. 

The sky was just beginning to lighten up, and Alec was grateful, if only for that single sign of things being okay. The darkness made everything seem so much worse, and Alec was looking foward to being able to see freely. His palms began to sweat, and he wiped them on his jeans. 

"Listen, Alec." Doc sounded frantic, looking between the hill and the bassist. "I know that you want to wait for them, but there's a goddamn bear out there and aren't they attracted to blood?" He was beginning to breathe harshly through his nose, eyes wide. 

"Are they?" David asked sharply. 

Alec groaned. "No, that's sharks." He replied, beginning to wonder if he'd been left behind on purpose. "Doc, can you shut the fuck up?" He shook his head. 

Looking away, Doc held up his hands in silent defeat before crossing them over his chest. "All I'm saying is that none of them are fighters." He said, as if unable to just let it be, like a kid who couldn't resist to urge to grab a stick and poke the dead body. 

"They're better fighters than you will ever be, Doc." Alec muttered. 

Above the horizon, the sun was pale gold, and it pushed back the darkness, shoving it away, as if there was no room for such fallacy when it was around. Alec couldn't help frowning, feeling his worry increase as time passed. He bounced on the balls of his feet, rubbing his arms when the cold became too much to ignore. 

David looked like he was about to start screaming out of pure frustration from the tops of his lungs. "What's taking them so long?" He said in a desperate tone. 

"Yet again, who knows how injured Bryce is." Alec said, not keen on having a panicked keyboardist on his hands, too. "For all we know, he broke his back." 

"Then why haven't they come and asked for help?" Doc sounded snide and coy, like he was enjoying himself and this little game that they seemed to be playing without anybody else's knowledge. 

"Oh, Christ, Doc." Alec whirled on him. "Head back to camp if you're gonna do nothin' but bitch and moan and question me about things that I don't know anything about!" He snarled. 

"Don't fight." David hurriedly said, coming to a stand between them so that Alec didn't feel confident enough to throw a punch without accidentally hitting him, too. "C'mon, guys, just let it go." 

Alec stared at Doc for a minute more before turning away, gritting his teeth in anger. "Don't say one more word, Doc, or I'll pop you a new one." He said. 

"Please don't talk." David whispered to their manager, like he had any more control over the situation than Alec did. 

The time seemed to stretch by, and then Jon's shadow, and then his actual body, appeared. He glanced down at them before turning back. "We're at the hill, guys." 

Alec allowed himself a relieved smile before walking over. "What took you guys so long?" He asked, walking up the hill, just in case they needed help. He was beginning to feel the pull of exhaustion at the nape of his skull just as he reached the top and found himself regretting that decision. "Christ." He said. 

"Yeah, yeah." Bryce muttered in a low, miserable tone. 

They hadn't managed to get the trap off of Bryce, so Richie had grabbed him by the arms, Tico had grabbed him by the legs, and Jon had helped with the navigation process back to where the others were. Bryce felt a low burning pain in his long where the trap had pierced his skin, but didn't dare complain about it because he knew, at the end of the day, that this was his fault. 

Jon grabbed Tico's shoulders. "You're gonna have to be slow on this part." He said in warning as they slowly approached the edge of the hill. It wasn't a long or particularly steep hill, but it'd be hard to navigate down without dropping Bryce. 

"You fucking bastard, you lived!" Bryce said when he saw Doc, eyes wide in shock, or just anger. "I thought that you would've fallen off a mountain, or some dumb shit like that." He scoffed. 

"If there was a bear trap, then doesn't that mean there's people around here?" Alec asked as they begun to move down, grabbing Richie by his upper biceps so he didn't go and take a tumble. "I mean, _somebody_ had to have put it there." He added after a lonely minute of silence. 

"It'a old, and rusty." Richie said, looking down at his shoes as he half-walked and half-fell down the hill. "It could be fifty years old, for all we know." He looked apologetic for saying so, as if it was avoidable. 

Tico grimaced as his foot hit a rock. "Richie's right, unfortunately. This could be old as sin and we wouldn't know the difference. However, there could be more traps around here, and that's both good and bad." He hit solid ground first, and uttered a sigh of relief. 

A moment later, Richie made it down, and they laid Bryce down on to the stable ground. Tico stretched as the muscles in his back complained loudly. "We need to be careful so that another person doesn't get injured, _and_ the bear could get injured in one, so it's a fifty - fifty kinda thing, here." He splayed one of his hands in the air and shook it. 

"Right." Alec heaved a sigh. "But it's light now, so we have that on our side." 

"Was the bear up there?" David asked, his voice high and sharp. 

Jon nodded. "Yes. He was - well, more aggressive, or like he was testing us." He motioned around in the air with his hands. "Like he's becoming used to us or something." He added. 

"You guys didn't see the worst of it." Bryce interjected. "He was sniffing my leg before you three came along. Thanks for nothing, Doc fuckin' Mghee." 

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know I had to stand by while that thing was there." Doc said, looking more than a little offended. "And why am I enemy number one, huh?" 

Richie sighed. "Well, Doc, you're an asshole." He replied. 

Before anything could progress into an argument, as if naturally did, Tico held his hands up. "Instead of arguing, maybe we should find a new plan, because we can't carry Bryce for the entire hike." He paused in thought, looking at everybody that was gathered around him. David couldn't help, and unless Tico managed to force Doc into it, then that meant Richie, Jon, Alec and he would be cycling through it, and only one person could take a break at a time, and Bryce was a pain to carry. 

"What do you suggest? Leaving him?" Alec said. "Or are you implying that only like three of us do the hike, but you don't wanna be the bad guy?" He raised his eyebrows in question. 

"Well, yes." Tico sighed. "Unless we somehow manage to find a way to get Bryce mobile without making the rest of us immobile." He said, and then he realized how bad that he sounded, and that he was implying that they needed to leave somebody behind, which was something that he did not want to do. 

Tico knew that, at least, the core five of them needed to stick together, and Bryce was the next important thing. The surprise at callousness that he was harboring towards Doc was temporary, and, as Tico glanced at him, not entirely undeserved on his side. 

"Maybe we should head back to the road before we make any major life decisions." Jon said after a minute or two of silence. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his pockets and shrugged when everybody turned to stare at him. 

Richie nodded. "Yeah, I agree. I don't feel comfortable just standing here." He looked around at the surrounding trees with a weary glare in his eyes. 

"I don't think we should feel comfortable anywhere." Alec added. 

Shifting around, David clutched his arm, staring up at the sky, which was beginning to fully turn light blue. "How long have we been out here? It feels like it's been forever." He said. 

And that brought to light a whole new set of questions that Tico wasn't willing to face - how long would they be stuck out here? And as his stomach pulled in hunger, that question became much more terrifying. 

None of them had eaten since the previous day when they'd all eaten granola for breakfast, and although nobody had complained yet, Tico knew that everybody would start to get hungry soon. He had been too full of adrenaline to notice before, but he knew that soon, hunger would turn into anger, and their fragile peace would shatter. 

What would they drink? Surely, there was a lake or something, but where? 

Tico bit his lip in thought. "Let's get moving." 


	7. Chapter 7

**Tuesday, 5:36 AM**

Truth be told, and with all honesty, Alec wasn't very confident in the chances of everybody surviving. 

He felt like a jerk for thinking such a thing, but as he glanced over his shoulder at the men that he'd somehow found himself surviving in the woods with, Alec felt doubt begin to blossom in his mind. He had gone camping, what, three times as a kid? And even then, Alec had always had his parents with him, and his father had always kept a gun on him, like his right-hand man. 

The two people who were injured to a more serious degree - David and Bryce - were, technically, dead weight, when it came down to it. Alec began to feel less like a jerk and more like a straight psychopath, but there were three guys that were having to carry Bryce, and they were struggling, despite the relatively short time that seemed to have passed. David was slightly less dead and more weight, given that his injury didn't impact his walking, but still. 

With that being said, Alec wasn't willing in the slightest to abandon David, and he wasn't about to go and suggest that they leave Bryce to die. He wasn't exactly the most _moralistic_ person, per say, but he wasn't evil. Tico seemed fine to be taking the leader role, which was just fine by Alec's opinion. Richie was constantly looking over his shoulder for the bear, maybe, or for somebody to run up to him and try to steal something of his. Jon seemed close to the brink of a mental breakdown, brought on by stress or mere fear. 

What were the chances of them surviving? The closest thing to any sort of danger back in Jersey had been the occasional black bear, but they rarely came closer than a few feet, and Alec didn't recall ever being threatened by one during his visits to the suburb, when a bear would come from the woods and observe the humans that were mulling around. 

Alec was glad that it was light outside, anyways. It gave the woods a much friendlier look, and made his anxiety abate, if only slightly. Even then, his stomach ached in hunger, and Alec wondered how long it'd been since he had last eaten. A small part of him wanted to laugh because it hadn't even been a full day and he was already acting like it'd been a few weeks. 

"Okay, can we stop? My arms feel like they're about to fall off." Jon said, breaking the temporary silence, looking genuinely in pain as he held Bryce's legs above the ground, wavering slightly as he waited for an answer. 

"Yeah." Tico sighed. "Set him down, gently." 

Together, Tico, Jon and Richie lowered Bryce onto the ground, looking immensely relieved as they began to stretch out their backs and shoulders. 

Granted silent permission, Alec sat down, beginning to feel aches in his body from sleeping on the hard ground and doing nothing but walking through the woods aimlessly. The coldness of the night hadn't yet abated, and Alec shivered as he looked up at the sun, which was still making its way up toward the sky. 

The idea of being out in the wilderness, with no provisions or help in sight - was one that Alec didn't want to entertain, but hope was such a weird thing, and he could feel it seeping away with each passing moment. 

David sat down. "What time is it?" He asked. 

From his spot near Bryce, as if keeping watch over the prone man, Tico looked at his watch. "Ten 'till six." He replied. 

"It feels like its been forever." Richie said, leaning against a tree. He looked exhausted, and understandably so. "I'm hungry." He suddenly complained, as if his thought process had switched shifts in less than a few seconds. 

"Yeah." Tico pat the pockets on his jacket, and then he dug into one of them, only to pull out a small square of tinfoil. "All I've got is a piece of gum." He said, sounding quite disappointed at the right that beheld itself. 

Jon frowned, reaching into his own pockets, searching around for a silent minute or two. "I've got lint." He said, pulling out a few pieces of white fluff before tossing them to the ground and burying his face inside of his hands, as if trying to hide himself from the world. 

Silence fell among the group, punctuated by the sound of tense heartbeats and awkward gazes. Alec wanted to say something to console his friends, to give them hope, but he didn't have anything, and all he could do was look down at his knees and pick at a small hole in his jeans. 

None of them had ever been in a position of ever having to survive - Alec couldn't compare his moments of poor choices during the bad times in his life to the present situation. His stomach hurt, complaining of hunger that it'd felt before but never so terribly, because Alec had always had the opportunity of stealing from stores or, hell, just getting caught jaywalking because, at the very least, prison would feed him. 

Now, there was nothing but leaves and twigs and tree bark. 

"Okay, let's get going." Tico said. "Alec, Doc, would you two mind?" He motioned vaguely to Bryce, who glared up at them from the ground. 

Richie smiled faintly. "Nah, I can get him. How close are we to camp?" He asked as he walked back over to Tico, who shrugged and then looked away quickly. 

But not quickly enough that Alec couldn't see the inner battle going on within the confines of Tico's mind. His heart dropped, and it suddenly began to get a lot colder. "We're lost." Alec said, and everybody whirled around to stare at him. 

" _What?"_ David looked terrified, turning to look at Tico with impossibly wide eyes, hoping that it wasn't true. "We're lost?" He repeated. 

"Oh, God." Doc said from behind everybody, sounding faintly irritated but, at the same time, too scared for anything else than that faint tremor of annoyance that slipped into his voice. 

Tico winced. "I don't know how. We went in a straight line, both earlier and right now, but we should've been back right now. Or, at least, recognizing some landmarks or something. But nothing looks the same." He paused, as if in thought, or debating on how to continue. "But, yes, I think that we're lost." 

The tension in the air was so thick that Alec could cut it straight with his knife, and he looked around at the trees, at the ground, at the sky. The world seemed to spin on its axle, and Alec felt his heart begin to pound again. "Fuck." He breathed out, feeling goosebumps prickle on his skin. 

"Don't panic." Tico said hurriedly. "We'll all be okay." But he didn't sound so certain of that reassurance, and the words sounded fake, false, awkward. 

"Like hell we will." Doc replied. "We're lost, because not a single one of you assholes bothered to figure out a way to make sure that we could get back to the place that we were in." 

Richie's lip curled. "Well, if you and Bryce hadn't wandered away like idiots, then we wouldn't have had to leave, and we could be hiking at this very moment." 

"Oh, yeah, fucking blame me!" Doc tossed his hands up the air, his voice rising into a howling crescendo. "Classic, boys, classic. I made you assholes famous and all you five can manage is to fuck everything up." He was only working everybody up, getting their tempers to rise to the him satisfaction. 

Clenching his fists, Alec told himself to calm down, knowing that he couldn't afford to lose his temper. "Doc, do us all a nice favor and shut your goddamn mouth." He finally said. 

"You only say that because you _know_ that I'm right!" Doc continued. "Nobody would look twice at any of you if you five didn't have my name on your backs!" 

"Stop it, stop it, _stop it."_ Jon hissed. "You're not making anything better." 

Tico nodded. "Doc, just calm down, and we can all - " 

"All what? All go on, sing a little song, make friends with a few wild animals?" Doc snapped irritably. 

From the depths of the woods, there came the sound of snapping twigs. 

Jon stiffened visibly. "Doc, shut the fuck up." He whispered. 

"Why? So we can just goin' round and round in circles all because the fucking drummer lost our way?" Doc said. 

The twigs stopped, and then there came a heavy, lumbering breathe, and Doc stopped, clamping his mouth shut as his eyes began to widen until they were the size of saucers. 

It was impossible to see through the shadows of the trees, but it was no great wonder what was going on. Alec squinted, trying to see where the bear was so he could at least predict where it was going to come from. He backed away until his back hit a tree, feeling the bark stab into his skin. He didn't know what to do, and neither did anybody else. 

"For fuck's sake." Tico whispered as he fell into a crouch beside Bryce, who was twisting around like a fish to try and see what was going on. He was deep in thought, Alec could tell, but they couldn't run, could they? The bear would just chase them down. 

Alec turned to try and figure out where everybody was, to try and keep track of everybody so that he didn't lose track of them. He could see Tico and Bryce, both of whom were furthest from the group. He could see Richie, who was sitting across from Alec, and Jon, who was halfway between Richie and David, who was just a few feet away from Doc. 

If the bear were to run toward them, they would all be split up.

Puffing and huffing, the bear rumbled from the trees, swaying from side to side as he came from the darkness. He blinked, and then growled from deep within his throat, seemingly from his chest. From Alec's vantage point, the bear looked like a goddamn monster, like the sort of creature who lived underneath his bed that would send him crying for his parents. 

The idea of dying made Alec want to turn tail and run, but he knew that he couldn't, and so he could only stare as the bear snorted through his nose and lumbered towards them. 

Doc was closest to the bear, and he backed away, whimpering like a kicked puppy, rapidly backing away until one of his feet hit a rock and he tumbled to the ground next to Jon's legs. 

" _Stop moving."_ Tico hissed through gritted teeth, leaning onto his hands, as if preparing himself to run. " _Don't fucking move."_ His eyes danced between everybody and the bear, maybe wondering who it was going to run to. 

For a moment, nobody could move - Alec could hardly dare breathe as the bear stared at them. He hoped more than anything that the bear would just turn around and walk away, but he knew better than that. Before this whole situation was over, somebody was going to be dead. 

Alec's blood ran cold, and then his heart jumped into his throat when the bear suddenly ran forward, seemingly like a flash despite his considerable gurth. If he would've been at a zoo, observing the bear, Alec would've been impressed by the speed but now, he was terrified, and he went to run but he tripped and sprawled across the ground. 

The bear had paused, and his bottomless black eyes were directed at David, who hadn't moved, but was too shocked to do anything but stare right back. 

"Dave...don't move..." Tico whispered. "Just stand your ground." He had one of his legs propped underneath him, halfway into a standing position. 

A part of Alec wondered if the bear could sense the injury, like it would a wounded deer. If he could tell that David couldn't and wouldn't up as much of a fight. If he knew that David would be easier to take down. God, Alec hoped not, because that meant that this thing was smarter than they could give it credit for, and that he was determined. 

David was shaking, and he opened his mouth, perhaps to say something, but nothing came out. His breath hitched, and he seemed to shrink backwards despite not moving backwards. 

And then, as if the pause had just been complimentary, the bear opened his mouth in a deafening roar and sprinted toward David, who stepped backwards and fell backwards, eyes wide. 

Chaos descended upon the group - Alec yelled out and lunged foward, unsure what he intended to do but knowing that he needed to distract the bear. By whatever grace of God, Alec fell onto his stomach, nowhere near the bear, who hadn't taken off to David as expected. 

Sensing the urgency, Doc stumbled to his feet and began to run away, toward the way that their camp was supposed to be. The bear grunted, as if he couldn't be bothered by such a thing. He opened his mouth and let out a deafening roar that seemed to echo throughout the air. 

Tico was laying on his stomach, propped up by his elbows. "Alec?" He whispered.

Even though he could hear his heart thundering throughout his body, Alec slowly turned his head. "Yeah?" He whispered back, seeing Richie on his knees and Jon pressed up against a tree and hoping, praying, that the bear didn't go after David again, even though it was probably all in vain. 

"It's going to go after David." Tico breathed out, his eyes flickering the bear and the tree line. "We can't let it do that " 

"I know." Alec swallowed past his fear, feeling the bark dig into his elbows. "But what the fuck are we supposed to do?" 

The question went unanswered as the bear let out a low _hmph_ sound and stepped toward David who, without the use of one his arms, almost fell onto his back but managed to just crawl backwards with his good arm. 

"Distract it." Tico said. 

Alec turned and stared at it. "What, should I go get my fucking bass from the ruins of the bus?" He said, unsure about his emotions but knowing that he was getting close to just standing up and screaming, really. 

Slowly, almost tauntingly, the bear stepped foward and David hurried backwards, nearly falling in his haste, his feet digging for purchase into the mess of dries leaves and twigs. The bear was growling, and David was reciting a frantic prayer between frantic gasps for air as his panic grew. 

"Teek, what the fuck do we do?" Richie whispered. 

And then the bear roared and sprinted forward, and although it appeared later to be a mere ruse, panic replaced chaos and what followed was a single, desperate attempt to keep everybody alive in the face of a terrible situation that nobody was trained in. 

Jon jumped foward. " _No!"_ He cried out, unashamedly desperate to save his childhood friend, but he tripped over his own feet and fell onto his stomach. 

In the face of imminent death, David somehow managed to scramble to his feet and run, and the bear bellowed and began to sprint after him. 

"Oh, fuck! Fuck!" Alec grabbed a rock and, as a last-ditch effort to save his friend, tossed it at the bear, who whirled back around, seemingly abandoning David, who had disappeared from sight, and focusing back on the other four.

Or five, if you include Bryce, who was trying to make himself one with the woods to avoid being seen. 

Richie grabbed Jon and pulled him back up, scrambling to avoid getting the bear's temper turned on him. But when the bear rounded on Alec, Richie grabbed another rock and tossed it anyways, this time hitting the animal on the head. 

Desperate to avoid being crushed, Tico stumbled onto his feet, stumbling backwards and waving his hands. "Hey, freak! Look at me!" He yelled out breathlessly, and the bear whirled around to stare at him. 

They stood there on opposite ends of the circle, staring at the creature that could easily kill them if given the chance, hearing every heartbeat and every pant of breath, knowing that it could be their last. 

But Alec, in spite of his earlier thoughts, wondered if they really could make it. 

Well, if David had any chance of surviving, then Alec figured that they had to survive this, too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly more humorous ending, you could say, eh? In any case, Alec has his priorities in order.
> 
> Ahaha. I'm so stressed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Tuesday, 6:00 AM**

The bear looked as if it was sizing them up, trying to figure out who he was going to take down first. He puffed air from his mouth, staring at them with those eternally black eyes. His claws were like needles, and when he opened his mouth, his sharp canine teeth glinted in the daylight. 

Jon couldn't tear his eyes away, equal parts terrified and fascinated as he stared at the animal that would without doubt, rip him to pieces if so inclined. He was sitting against a tree, feeling the cold wind on his face and each terrified beat of his heart. " _Richie..."_ He breathed out, forcing his lips to form the name that felt like a prayer in the wind. 

"Yes?" Richie's voice shivered on the way out, a small tremor of fear that seemed to come from deep within his chest. 

"There's blood on his teeth." Jon tried to remember whatever else his old scout leader had told him about bears, but his mind blanked out and all he could think about was how close the bear was to him. 

"Ah." Richie said, his eyes widening slightly. "There's deer in the woods, y'know." 

But the reassurance felt false on Richie's tongue, and he reached down until his fingers skimmed Jon's shoulder, brushing against the coarse material of his jacket. The touch grounded Jon, and his heart calmed, although not by much. 

On the other side, Alec had made himself one with the trees, trying to figure out what the fuck he was going to do. The bear was grunting at him, and he sounded angry, which made Alec want to shrink back like a terrified child. His fingernails scraped against the bark, and it hurt. 

Tico hadn't quite moved from his spot yet, his eyes dark and determined as he stood near Bryce, who had fallen suddenly and startlingly silent in the face of terror. 

"Okay. He's distracted. Now what?" Alec hissed through gritted teeth, slowly glancing at Tico, who didn't have much of a response now that they had the bear staring at him. 

There wasn't a response for a few fragile minutes, until Tico finally took a deep breath and gathered his courage while it tried to run away from him. It was just a bear, he tried to tell himself. An animal, who was probably more scared of them than they were of him. 

And then the bear growled, and Tico flinched. 

The bear looked as if silently judging them, watching their every single move with careful eyes. Richie looked around at the woods around them, unsure of what he was looking for, but praying that something would give him an idea as to what would do. 

"Oh, God." Jon moaned as the bear meandered closer, but then he turned halfway and stared out into the woods. He almost seemed to consider something, before beginning to walk away, the dried leaves crunching underneath his heavy weight. 

Nobody could dare breath as the bear walked away, slowly and purposefully, and then it paused. In the pale blue light, the bear was a mere, blotchy, dark shape in the distance, staring out toward the horizon. 

"No, no, fuck me." Tico groaned, grabbing Bryce by his arms and beginning to drag him. "Run, go, he's gonna come back." 

Bryce groaned. "Stop it! Just leave me if you're gonna - " 

With an almighty roar, the bear whirled around and began to heave his bulk back toward them, seeming to go a hundred miles per hour in his evident haste to get his dinner - or just freak some people out. Either way, he seemed so ominous and so terrifying in the sudden flash of brown fur and black eyes. 

Jon stumbled to his feet, grabbing Bryce by the legs, but it was a messy effort and the situation had suddenly been tossed into chaos. "Fuck, fuck!" He clenched his teeth, but Bryce seemed so heavy, and his muscles felt like jelly. 

"He's coming!" Alec yelled. 

In spite of Richie suddenly joining them to grab the other leg, Bryce was thrashing in panic like a fish out of water and Alec jogged over, grabbing Bryce by the torso to help with the process, but it was all in vain, because the bear was getting closer and they hadn't moved more than a few inches. 

"Go! Go! I'll stay with him!" Tico yelled, pushing Alec away and motioning for the other two to run away. He was panicking, frantic and wide-eyed, feeling his heart begin to race. "Just go, for fuck's sake!" 

Alec glared. "Yeah, like we'd fucking leave you." He snapped. 

The bear rumbled, roaring like some monster from a fairytale come true. 

"We'll play dead, or whatever." Tico huffed. "Set him down." 

"Set me down!" Bryce yelled. 

Just as the bear came within the clearing, they all dropped Bryce near one of the trees, the leaves crinkling underneath his weight. Tico shoved Bryce down onto the ground. "Just go. _Run."_ He whispered. 

"Oh, Christ. We ain't all leaving you." Jon was grabbing onto Richie's arm, though, which offset the forced calmness of his words. 

Alec looked at the bear, then at his friends, and then back at the bear, rushing to make a frantic decision in the face of imminent danger. The world seemed to be going in slow motion, and Alec was given a choice, a life-or-death, million dollar question. 

And then Alec looked down at Bryce, who slowly nodded. 

The fragile time was speeding past, and as Alec was given that one nod of permission, he took a deep breath and grabbed Tico, wrenching his arm foward as he pulled him backwards. Tico was a big guy, but he was short, and Alec had that one advantage, even though he did get knocked painfully in the chest in the panicked haste. 

Richie grabbed Tico's other arm, and pushed him to the other side of the tree, away from the bear, but not too far. Tico grunted in surprise and pain as he fell to the ground, and he opened his mouth, angry, but Alec slapped his hand over it before any words could come. 

"Both of you. Go." Alec said, trying desperately to keep a good grip on Tico's arm. 

Just as he said that, the bear came barreling toward them, and he went straight for Bryce. 

**6:10 AM**

David could hear the bear following him - grunting, out of breath, trying to keep up while David frantically muttered a prayer. Branches whipped at his face, and they stung painfully, but leaves were crunching behind him and panic was driving his leg muscles to move, to not stop and think and get eaten. 

But then David's foot caught on a log, and he went tumbling to the ground, clutching his arm as the sudden fall sent a bolt of pain through it. He went headfirst onto the ground, rolling onto his stomach and then his back, pushing at the ground to try and save himself from an untimely fate, but when he expected to feel sharp claws on his back and face, there came nothing. 

Halfway between standing and laying, David looked around at the woods around him, suddenly realizing that he was alone, and being alone meant that he didn't know where his friends were, which meant that they were separated and David was lost and his arm hurt, and this whole goddamn thing was stupid, anyways. 

Despite this, David could feel relief as he realized that there was no bear, no monstrous creature chasing him, just panic and fear making every sound leap at him like a monster. David breathed harshly, slowly managing to get his legs underneath him so he could stand up. 

Suddenly, footsteps crackled over dried leaves and thin twigs, and rationality went flying through the window. David frantically looked around, but yet again, there was nothing, and he tried to take a few reps breaths just like Tico always told him to do before shows but he couldn't see anything. He stepped backwards.

There came noises from all around the forest, grunts and growls and roars, and maybe it was lack of any good sleep or food, but David wondered if he was hallucinating the noises, if maybe the adrenaline rush from having the bear so close was making him go crazy. David yelped when he realized that there was nothing beneath his legs, and he was in a freefall before, suddenly, he was falling down for real. 

David was pretty sure he blacked out during the fall down, because the next thing he knew, there was a pain everywhere in his body, and his head felt foggy, like the thoughts he needed were playing in a mist and David was trying to catch them and hold onto them but he couldn't. His shirt was torn and his stomach was bloodied. The splint that Jon had made for him had been torn apart by the fall, and David carefully removed it, pulling away the twigs that'd been keeping it all together because they'd cracked under pressure and he was missing one of the two shoelaces that had been given, making the whole thing useless. 

The noises seemed to have stopped, but all David could hear was his own hoarse breathing as he slowly looked around and realized that he'd fallen into a steep ravine, with no water but an endless distance covering it. David sniffed and realized that his nose was bleeding, so he wiped it with his good hand before looking down at his arm. 

It was all - _bumpy,_ and David wasn't an idiot. He was naive but he wasn't a goddamn idiot. He knew that the bump was his bone and he felt like laughing but all he could do was feel a single tear slip down from the corner of his eye as the reality of the situation became even more clear. His fucking arm was broken, so it didnt matter what happened to the splint or not, because it wouldn't work. 

At least, before, David had been with his friends, but now he was alone and his arm was broken again and David just wanted to go home, why couldn't he just go home? 

" _Stop it, stop it..."_ David looked down at his knees and forced himself to calm down, even though he was going to just be right back at it in a few minutes. He cradled his arm and counted backwards from ten, closing his eyes and bathing himself in darkness before he finally managed to get his heart down to a manageable pace. 

David opened his eyes, wondering how the hell he was supposed to get out of the ravine. 

**6:15 AM**

The bear raised its paw and slashed at Bryce's arm, making him yell out in a surprised combination of fear, pain and shock. Blood welled up from the scratches, which seemed more like gashes, really. With a roar, the bear reared onto its back paws, reeled back, and managed to catch Bryce's face. 

Bryce flew a few feet, like a limp rag doll who had just been tossed to the other side of the room by its owner. He didn't make so much as a single whimper, sprawled on the ground, arms askew. There was a gash on his cheek, scratches on his forehead. Blood dripped down his face, stark red against the tones of woodland darkness. 

"Holy shit." Richie gasped out, unable to tear his eyes away from the sickening scene that was playing out in front of him. It terrified him, but a terrible part of him was almost fascinated by it. Richie hated that. It made him feel like a horrible person, to be watching while Bryce was tossed around and killed. His stomach churned and his heart felt like a jackhammer against his ribcage. "Holy fucking shit." He repeated rather uselessly. 

Roaring, the bear got back down onto all fours and then began to shuffle toward the prone man on the ground. 

"Don't look. Don't look." Jon kept repeating, and then he grabbed Richie and turned him roughly. "Don't look." He was remarkably calm, but there were tears, shining bright in his eyes. 

A small part of Richie wanted to obey, to just agree, but then he slowly shook his head. "We can't leave him." He whispered, and every word sounded like a plea of desperation. 

Jon's grasp tightened, and he nodded. "I know." 

From their place on the ground, Tico was fighting Alec's grip, trying to get out of it, but it wasn't working and Alec wasn't going to let go. He felt like a terrible person and wondwred if he was ever going to forgive himself, much less have Tico forgive him. 

"Fuck - off!" Tico grunted. 

Richie looked at Jon, at his open, pale face, feeling a million things yet nothing at the same time. "We can't let him die." He said. 

By all means, Bryce was probably unconscious, if his rising chest but closed eyes had any meaning. If the bear killed him, would he feel a thing? Richie wondered if they would save him, if only for him to succumb to his injuries. ' _Or survive, and die for no reason.'_ "We gotta do something." Richie said in a louder voice.

Just as Richie said that, Tico elbowed Alec in his stomach, slipping out of his grip as soon as it became lax enough for him too slip out. Tico stumbled to his feet, and he stared at the bear, feeling it turn around to stare at him with those cold, unfeeling eyes. 

Alec coughed painfully, trying to gather his breath, watching as Tico got to his feet and stared at the bear. ' _Don't sacrifice yourself for that fuckhead, Teek. You can't die. I'm not gonna let you die.'_

"Okay, okay." Jon hurried over to Tico and grabbed his arm, pulling him back, away from the bear, and away from Bryce. "We need a plan, if we're gonna do this." 

"We don't have time for a plan!" Tico insisted. 

The bear made a huffing noise and stepped foward, staring at them, as if he was wondering what he was going to do, too. His claws scraped against the ground, and he took another step forward. 

Alec got to his feet. "I'm with Tico on this one. We don't have time for a plan." He said breathlessly, still trying to force air into his lungs. 

"Rich?" Jon tilted his head back, but his eyes didn't move, fixed squarely on the bear in front of him. "You wanna get Bryce?" His voice was doing that high-pitched thing that it did whenever he was nervous beyond belief, but knew that he had no other choice. 

"What? No, you get him." Richie said, still fixed to the spot, scared that the bear would snap out of his daze if he moved even the slightest inch. "You're a terrible fighter, Jonny." 

"No, no, he's right. Jon, you're gonna go get him." Tico turned to look at everybody, suddenly realizing that he was risking their lives - for what? To spare them the guilt that would come if they didn't save Bryce? Tico felt doubt in his mind, poking at his determination with a stick. "Alec, Richie and I will - distract him, I guess." 

Taking a deep breath, Alec wondered if he was about to die. 

And then, in the distance of the wintry wilderness, there came a scream that seemed to seep from deep within the lungs and be forced out into existence like it was physically paining whoever had been hurt badly enough, or scared, to scream like that. 

The scream lasted for what seemed like forever, and the bear made a whimpering noise, moving around frantically before it suddenly began to sprint away from them and into the trees, toward where the scream was coming from just before it tapered off. 

"Oh, God. That was Doc." Jon said, his eyes widening at the implication of those words, his grip on Tico's arm tightening. "That bear is gonna - Christ." He ran his hands through his hair. 

Tico sighed. "It never ends." He breathed out, jogging over to where Bryce was, figuring that Doc could wait a few goddamn minutes. He fell to his knees, wondering if Bryce was dead and that whole thing had been for nothing. Tico's hands wavered in the air with uncertainty, unsure of what he was supposed to do. 

Without warning, Bryce's eyes slid open, and he stare at Tico, who jumped back immediately, startled. 

"Is it gone?" Bryce whispered. 

Alec scoffed. "Well, good thing that we didn't let you - die, huh?" He crouched down beside Tico, dark strands of hair falling into his eyes. 

"I'm sorry." Tico said as he looked over Bryce's injuries. "Alec, I'm sorry for hurting you." He said. 

"It's fine." Alec said. "I would've done the same thing." He paused. "But we have worse things on our mind - like where David went." 

**6:18 AM**

Looking up at either sides of the steep ravine, David felt his heart begin to sink when he realized that, even with the use of both of his arms, he wouldn't have been able to climb up, much less with one of them broken. He wondered if he wad going to die of starvation down in the ravine, and found in a couple of years as a mere skeleton. 

David wanted to yell out, hoping that his friends would hear his yells, but he didn't want for the bear or some other wild animal to find him. He sat back down, feeling hopeless in a cold sort of way that seemed to envelope his whole body. 

When he sat down, David felt somebody stiff in his pocket, and he reached into it, only to pull out his wallet. He had forgotten that it'd been in his jacket, seeing as there was nothing in it to be any use. 

There was a bank card and a few dollar bills, a coupon that had expired, and a picture of David's parents and his sister, all gathered into the shot, smiling. David felt his heart ache and he felt ashamed when he felt another tear slip down his nose and land on the picture, but he felt so alone and helpless.

The idea of dying, alone, made David feel even worse, and he cradled his arm against his chest, looking up at the sky as dark clouds began to close over his head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, David. I've got a lot in store for you, but you're gonna survive.


	9. Chapter 9

**Tuesday 6:30 AM**

Tico wasn't a goddamn doctor - he had no idea what the hell he was supposes to be doing, had no idea how he was supposed to treat the bloodied wounds. His hands hovered above Bryce, and then came down for a rest on his side, where none of the scratches were. 

"Hey, Jon? What else did that scout leader tell you?" Alec asked, turning around and coming to a stop from where he had been pacing for the last few minutes in tense silence. 

With a shrug, Jon paused and thought about that for a minute. "He taught me how to treat somebody whose in shock, who has broken their ribs, how to make a splint, how to make a fire, how to suture a wound, but nothing like _that._ " He was listing things off on his fingers, seemingly caught up in his memories before gesturing vaguely to Bryce. 

"Figures." Alec muttered, looking around at the trees and turning around in a full circle to see what was around him. Trees, trees and more trees, dull greens and blues and browns. Leaves that crunched under Alec's boots. "I think we should split up." He finally said. 

"Not again." Richie sighed, shaking his head almost regretfully. "What happens when the bear comes back?" He asked. "Doc ain't gonna fill him up!" The words sounded harsh, and Richie paled, clenching his hands. For awhile yet, nobody had dared consider what had just transpired.

Jon looked down at his feet. "He probably just - shit." He buried his face in his hands, leaning down until he was just a small hunched figure, desperate to just be back home, just like the rest of them were. 

"We don't know that." Tico said firmly, but the words were pathetic to his own ears, false and cruel in their own lies. He looked down, almost ashamed of himself. "Or we do, I don't know." 

That was hard thing, wasn't it? Tico _didn't_ know! He was the leader of this doomed group, and he didn't know a goddamn thing. For all anybody knew, they should just give themselves to the bear to give way to the inevitable. One member of the group was injured and missing, and the other three were just about as clueless and lost as he was. 

Tico took a deep breath and shut his eyes tightly, feeling like he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He was tired and hungry and full of lost hope, knowing that they wouldn't make it. A hand was resting on his back, right between his shoulder blades, and Tico opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder at whoever was there. 

Behind him, Jon stood with a faintly determined look on his face. "We can't fall apart yet." He said quietly. "David is out there, remember?" He squeezed Tico's shoulder, both sympathetic and knowledgeable but determined, anyways. 

Forcing himself to pull it back together, Tico nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Alec, what were you saying about splitting up?" He asked. 

Alec looked suddenly awkward, standing in the middle of it all. "Well, two of us can stay with Bryce, and then two of us can go look for Dave. He - he should've been back by now." He looked over his shoulder, as if expecting to see the blonde in the trees, with a grin, asking if they'd missed him. 

But there was nobody, and the whispers that floated through the trees were full of danger, things that nobody could reasonably expect for David _not_ to stumble into.

"Okay." Tico sighed. "I'm useless in this area - " He looked down at Bryce, who had remained silent the whole time but rolled his eyes. "-so I think Jon and you, Alec, should stay behind." 

"Why me?" Alec asked. 

Tico shrugged. "Richie's good with navigation, so since it's daylight, I think we have a better chance at not getting lost." He replied. "And Jon knows at least _some_ medical knowledge." 

Standing back up with a sigh, Richie placed his hands on the small of his back and stretched. "Why am I always part of the search parties?" He said, but it was in good nature, and he followed Tico without being asked. 

Before Richie could get anywhere, though, Jon grabbed his arm in a remarkably strong grip, one that spoke of desperation. "Please find him." Jon hissed, his voice quiet, but it sounded like a scream to Richie, who nodded. 

"We will." Richie promised. 

Tico sat down beside Bryce, his expression wrought with worry. "And be quick! It's getting dark." He paused, glancing up at the sky. "And cloudy." 

**Tuesday 6:40 AM**

Either side of the ravine was steep, rocky, and seemed hopeless to David as he stared up, his heart beating fast in his chest. In reality, David knew that he could begin walking and hope that the ravine evened out enough for him to climb up, but the idea seemed dangerous and what if the guys were looking for him? 

David's mind turned to the bear, and he hoped, more than anything, beyond any hope for his own saving, that his friends were okay. He rested his head against the hard surface of a rock and shut his eyes, feeling exhausted after what seemed like zero sleep in so long. David sighed, wondering if he was the only person that could save himself. 

After his fall, David's whole body hurt, and he was bleeding, but he tentively touched the cut on his stomach. It wasn't deep, anyways, but it burned at the slow graze of David's fingers against it. His nose didn't seem broken, and so David wiped the blood away with his sleeve and then looked down at his arm again. 

It hurt more than anything, and every time David shifted, a sharp pain went through his bones. He pressed it closely against his chest, and with his other arm cradling it like a baby, decided to start walking. The guys would probably call for him if they searched for him, right? 

' _That's right, David. They're gonna look for you, soon. But right now, you gotta start working on saving yourself. There's no hope for you to crawl up right now, but maybe, just maybe, the ground will even up and you can climb. So toughen up and starrt walking, son.'_ The voice in David's head sounded like his father, stern but gentle, always full of good advice. 

The voice was so clear that David could've been fooled into thinking that his father was right there next to him, but that was ridiculous, because his father was miles away, back in New Jersey. 

And so, with those words repeating in his head like a broken record, David began to walk, his stomach feeling like it was shrinking just from a full day without eating. David took a deep breath, and his mouth was dry. He hadn't had anything to drink, either. 

The sky was beginning to lighten up, and that reassured David, because at least he could see. He hurt everywhere and he was hungry, thirsty, tired, but he could see where he was going. But within a few moments, his legs felt like jelly, and each step was a desperate stumble. 

It was the lack of - well, everything, David knew, but it still scared him. 

' _Don't do this, son. Do you remember when you were in high school and all of the kids were faster than you on the track and you came home and told your mother and I that you were gonna run faster than anybody the next day?'_ The voice was back, and it was calm, firm. 

David let out what sounded like a whimper, and he bit down on his hand. He felt so exhausted, and he hated himself for this, for being so weak. Back then, it had been pure adrenaline that had been pushing him foward, but now, there were no wild animals to chase him, and David suddenly felt breathless. 

Stopping so suddenly that he was like a rigid statue, David tried to get himself to breath, but his anxiety was a physical pain in his chest, and he sat down. He felt like a sad, pathetic child. ' _Son, you will be okay, just - don't close your eyes.'_

But he felt so tired. 

**Tuesday 6:45 AM**

A cold, drafty wind swept through the trees, rustling the leaves and creating a vaguely ominous scene for their search. 

Alec wrapped his arms around his torso, feeling a shiver creep up his spine like fingers grazing his skin. "He went this way, we know that." He finally said, breaking the silence rather regrettably. "But did he turn? Did he go somewhere?" 

The questions went unanswered, because all Richie knew was that David could be in danger and he'd just promised Jon that he'd bring David back, so that at least they would be together while the danger grew and threatened. All of their lives were hanging in the balance, after all. 

"I think he would've went straight." Richie replied after a long silence. 

From ahead, Alec placed his hands on his hips. "He should've been back already. I don't think he would've been eager to spend any time alone." Alec was mostly talking to himself, he knew, but it helped to abate his anxiety. 

Richie didn't reply, only gazed out toward the trees, awaiting to see either David or another bear. Alec was right - Richie knew that David would've headed back as soon as he was surs that the bear hadn't followed him. But how long had that taken? David might've been too terrified to realize that there was nothing following him. 

"Do you think it's safe to call out to him?" Richie asked. 

Alec opened his mouth, unsure, but then he stopped, and he nearly tripped over a rock that was sticking out from the ground. He felt Richie stop, too, their shoulders grazing against each other briefly, so close that each breath seemed to mingle together. 

There in the distance, was a deer, grazing the ground with his snout brushing past leaves in search for food. His antlers seemed bigger than life, and his eyes were black but, somehow, so bright. 

After a day of being chased by a bear, the unexpected sight was one of great beauty and, on a strange way, perseverance. If Alec hadn't brought up the idea of them splitting up to find David, then they wouldn't have stumbled across such a beautiful creature. 

"I've seen more wild animals out here than I ever have in my life." Richie whispered, his voice stricken with unspoken awe. "He's helluva lot prettier than that bear." A small smile pulled at Richie's lips, and he let it overtake his face. 

"You can say that again." Alec sighed. "I don't want to scare him." 

The deer blinked and turned, staring at them, perhaps wondering in his own way if he was in danger. He was peppered to run, Alec could tell, and at their slightest movement, the deer would take off running. There was no going around it, and they had to get moving before the clouds could fully take over the sky and the rain would begin. 

Richie smiled. "Y'know, that makes it all worthwhile." He said. 

"Really?" Alec wrinkled his nose. 

"No." 

Suddenly, lightning crackled in the distance, and the deer, startled, took off into the trees like a flash, disappearing as readily as anything. Alec flinched, looking up at the dull grey storm clouds, his shoulders tensing up at the unexpected noise that seemed to seep into his very bones. 

"Holy shit." Richie said, moving away and beginning to walk foward. "Sight-seeing is over, huh?" He shivered. 

Alec jogged over to join the guitarist, the previous peace resorting to a dull fear as he realized that David would be alone, in the rain. They were all so fucking doomed, but Alec was determined to get through to the other side of the wilderness, to survive and not fall to the hopelessness that was beginning to take hold over them. 

But it was hard. 

The trees seemed so overwhelming, and Alec wasn't sure how long they would make it before their tempers boiled over like water from a pot on a hot stove. It wouldn't be long before hunger, thirst and exhaustion made the precarious peace be torn apart. 

None of them were survivalists, and none of them knew, truly, what they were doing, because none of them were city boys but they weren't exactly wilderness expert's either. 

Alec sighed. "How far did he go?" 

**Tuesday 6:50 AM**

Lightning crackled in the distance. The sky looked dark. A bitterly cold draft crept through the air. There was a strong smell of blood in the air. 

David sniffed, folding his jacket the best he could over the cut on his stomach, wincing as the movement accidentally jostled his arm. He had been drifting in and out of a faint sleep for the past ten or fifteen so minutes. His head hurt badly, not to mention the sudden haze in his vision, like a heavy fog had taken over. 

Hours seemed to have passed, but David had the faintest idea of time, and he saw a faint flicker of pale sky before the storm clouds had made it disappear. He could taste copper on his tongue. It felt like a strenuous exercise to keep himself from shivering and further hurting his arm. 

' _Son - David - you need to get up.'_ That goddamn voice was back. ' _You're hurt, and the guys must be looking for you, huh? So go help them out.'_

The idea of standing seemed almost funny, but David was beyond laughing, and all he could do was shut his eyes closed and wonder what was happening to him, if he got hurt worse than he'd thought back he had taken the tumble. David knew that he'd temporarily blacked out during the fall. Did that have something to do with this sudden exhaustion and pain? 

There was a faint voice, harsh and gravely, as if the owner of said voice smoked a lot, but David assumed that it was, along with his father's voice, a mere survival mechanism, and didn't open his eyes. 

' _Get up. Now.'_ His father was back home, probably reading the newspaper and trying to assuage David's mother's worries even though he probably felt the same way. ' _This isn't safe. Get up.'_

David wanted to act like a petulant teenager and snap at his father that he could barely move, but then there was a hand on his shoulder and he was wide awake, scrambling off his perch and back down to the ground. Sticks dug into his hand as David pulled himself backwards, panic making him clumsy. 

Panic began to pull painfully at David's chest, and his eyes were wide as he stared at the man who had just touched him. In a weird, strange way, he made David feel small, even though they looked to be the same height. 

The man was grizzled, old, a rifle slung over his shoulder. Limp white hair hung around his face. "Boy, I'm the last thing you should be afraid of out here." He said in a slow, southern drawl, heavy and foreign to David's ears, used too only his own. "Ain't no sight compared to one of the bears, I say." He made a thick noise from the back of his throat and spat onto the ground. 

Struck dumb, David only stared, wide-eyed and with his heart playing the role of a jackhammer against his ribcage, so hard that it hurt. 

"You lost, boy?" The man said, hitching the rifle higher up on his shoulder. 

"Um - " David felt dazed. "The bus - yeah." He couldn't seem to find his words, so he just looked at the torn knees of his jeans. 

"Well, then." The man grunted, spitting again. "Glad I found you before the bear could, eh? You'd be dead meat, boy." 

David blinked. "My friends are looking for me." He said. 

Raising his eyebrows, as if surprised by this, the man looked toward either sides of the ravine. "I just came around. Ain't nobody but a few birds, a deer, and this beauty." He motioned to a dead squirrel that he had hanging from his belt. 

The sight made David, already nauseous from his fall, feel like he was about to throw up. "They'll find me." He said, but even his own words sounded like a lie, and it made him realize, with a heavy heart, that he was alone, that he was the only person that could reasonably save himself. 

"I wouldn't be counting on that, boy." The man's gaze drifted, and David felt himself shiver. He didn't like the way that he was being looked at. It made him feel uncomfortable, like back when he was a little kid and some lady approached him at the park and asked if he wanted candy. "It's cold, it's gonna start raining soon..." He trailed off, letting the unfinished sentence hang in the air with all of the unspoken implications and consequences. "And you're injured." 

David pushed himself back. "I'll be fine." He said, even though his head felt heavy. 

"Yeah, yeah. I don't need that on my conscious." The man scoffed. "Just come with me, boy. We'll see if I can radio someone - " He paused, suddenly. "What's your name, boy?" 

The idea of running seemed enticing, but David couldn't get his feet underneath his body. "Um, Bryan." He said, like it really mattered, but it felt better to twist the truth than have this person say his name. 

"Bryan." The man repeated, as if testing out how it sounded. "Well, I'm Ben. How about we go back to my place, and I can see what's wrong with your arm, Bryan?"

A sense of foreboding overwhelmed David, and he somehow managed to get onto his feet, stumbling as he got upright again. Fear was making every sound seem so much louder - every breath, every heartbeat against his chest. "No, I'm gonna stay here." Hid eyes flickered to Ben's bloodied knife, hanging from his belt.

"That's not so wise, is it?" Ben coughed, a deep, hacking noise. "Now, I don't need no trouble, here, boy. Just c'mon. I'm sure ya' cold and all." 

"No." But David's own body betrayed him, and he shivered, his teeth clacking together before he clenched them. His arm ached with the forced motion. David took a deep breath. "Just leave me alone, man." He said. 

Ben stared at him, and it was then that David noticed how dead his eyes looked in the faint light. Dead, unemotional, dull. "C'mon. A nice fire, something to take away the pain..." His knife swayed in the breeze. 

Stepping backwards, David found himself back on the ground again, and his breath hitched, panic beginning to take over. " _No_ just go away!" He yelled, voice harsh and terrified. "I don't want to go with you!" He felt like his heart was about to beat forth from his chest. 

"Boy..." Ben sighed, and then he stepped foward with quick rapid steps, leaves crunching underneath his steady foot. He seemed almost regretful, but he did it, anyways. Ben withdrew the knife from his belt, and it looked so _sharp,_ so dangerous. 

David yelped and tried to get back onto his feet, but then there was a steady pressure as Ben pushed him back to the ground. David's head hit the ground and black spots danced in front of his vision. He opened his mouth, but then Ben slapped his hand over David's mouth, smothering a yell. "Shut up, boy." He snarled, lips pulled back from his teeth. 

The weight on his stomach hurt, and David panicked, kicking his legs out in pure desperation. ' _Fight, Davey. Fight for your mama and Michelle and I.'_ His father's voice said. It sounded scared. David was scared. He couldn't breath. Things were moving too fast. 

In his haste to get this man _off_ of him, David punched him, unable to get to his face but going for his stomach, his chest. Ben grunted, sounding like a wild animal. He grabbed David's bad arm and twisted it. His grip was harsh and he smelt like smoke and blood. 

David screamed, abandoning the fight altogether. He tried to pull him arm away but Ben's grip was too tight. The pain was a furious burning sensation that David could feel throughout his whole body. Tears burned in his closed eyes. Ben twisted it again. David could feel his bone pressing up against his skin, threatening to break free. 

"Let me go let me go let me _go!"_ David felt like he was about to pass out from the pain. 

Finally, Ben let him go, and if not for that pressure, David would've curled into himself, clutching his arm close to his body. In some vague, distant part of his mind, David wondered if this would affect his playing - he wanted to play so bad, it always helped calm him down. 

"The others don't fight." Ben said quietly. "You shouldn't either." He stood up, and then he grabbed David by the lapels of his jacket and heaved him up from the ground, slamming him back down. 

Everything exploded into pain, and then it faded to black, just like a movie screen.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tuesday 7:30 AM**

Richie felt rain drops on his hair, his face, dripping down his nose and cheeks. He frowned and looked up, squinting up at the dark sky. "Shit." He breathed out, hearing lightning crackle in the distance, loud and bathing the grey sky in a fantastic bright light. 

Shivering, Alec cursed and kicked at a rock. It went flying across the ground and hit a tree. "Fuck, fuck, _fuck!"_ He yelled, feeling a rush of anger throughout his body, knowing that they were going to have to head back and not wanting to because, somewhere, David was alone and hurt and now it was raining. Alec scowled. "Go back, Richie." He said, his voice a mere mutter when compared to the rain. 

"What the hell are you - " Richie broke off, walking back into view from where he'd dropped behind. "I'm not gonna just _leave_ you!" He said, tossing his arms out and splaying his hands. 

"Yes, you will." Alec was remarkably calm. "I'm not gonna just leave David out here, alone." He said, gazing out toward the trees. 

"And you except me to?" Richie pointed to himself. "We're all worried about him, and I'm not gonna go back, either." He shook his head firmly. 

"Okay, fine." Alec sighed and took off his jacket, holding it up and over his head so he could see. He stared off between the trees, which seemed darker than ever as the rain poured down. "Where the fuck did he go?" 

They'd been walking for awhile, mostly in silence as they strained to hear any and all sounds. Alec was worried that something might've happened to David, that there's been another bear or he tripped. But, for fear of worrying Richie even further, Alec had stayed quiet, although Richie was probably going through the scenarios in his head at the same time. 

Richie was a mere shape in the darkness as they walked, desperate to see or hear anything of any help. Alec felt a hard shiver crawl over his body, glancing up at the trees, although he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. Other signs of life, probably. Birds or raccoons, some sort of animal besides the bear and the deer. 

" _Watch out!"_ Richie suddenly shouted, grabbing Alec by his shirt and heaving him back to the ground.

Opening his mouth, Alec was about to ask 'why' but then he saw that the ground had suddenly broken off and there was a sudden, steep drop. He stumbled back to his feet, carefully peering over, only to see that there was a steep ravine, the bottom of which was slowly filling with water. He looked both ways, but he didn't see anybody. 

"Thanks." Alec said, crouching down and wondering if David could've fallen. After all, he had been walking and, if not for Richie, would've fallen down and likely gotten injured. David had been running. Alec wasn't sure whether or not he should've been relieved or even more concerned. He frowned even deeper, and then turned back. "C'mere, Richie." He said. 

Richie slowly walked foward, his hair drenched and sticking to his forehead. "I guess this isn't a good time to tell you that I'm afraid of heights." He said softly, crouching down and shuffling forward. 

"Don't worry. Just hold my legs." Alec said, getting down on his hands and knees.

"Oh yeah, _reeaaal_ reassuring there, asshole." Richie grunted, but he wrapped his hands around Alec's ankles, anyways. His grip was tight and firm, strengthened by countless hours on stage of carrying a guitar. 

For a moment as he stared down the crevice, Alec felt his heart twist and jump to his throat. He wasn't particularly afraid of heights, but with only Richie to keep him from falling, the danger was only mounting by the minute. Alec told himself to calm down, and he crawled foward on his stomach, feeling wet leaves being crushed underneath his shirt, making him shiver. 

Alec used his elbows to pull himself foward, bending at the waist so he could partially dangle off the edge. He grunted, feeling the sharp edges and rocks digging into his skin. "Don't drop me." Alec said, just to reassure himself that there was actually somebody holding him. 

Richie made a half-amused noise from the back of his throat. "Jon would kill me if he had to find a new bass guitarist." He said, tightening his grip until it became almost painful. 

"I could believe that." Alec sighed, squinting as his hair began to obscure his vision, making it difficult to see what he was trying to get to. He reached out, teeth gritted as he strained his arm to try and see if he could grab it. The ground was wet and sticky, and Alec felt a rock jab into his arm. 

Finally, Alec managed to grab it, and he tilted his heas back. "Pull me up!" He yelled, and Richie did as told. 

As the blood returned to Alec's head, making him feel dizzy, he looked down at the piece of cloth in his hand and covered it with his body so the rain couldn't get on it. It was a small, torn piece of a black and white button-up, the same type and color that David had been wearing. There were spots of dried blood on it, smeared from the rain. 

Alec looked down at it, and then he looked up at Richie. The fear and unspoken tension in the air was thick and heavy.

"Fuck." Richie said succinctly, his dark eyes wide and worried. "What do you think happened, Al?" He asked, looking up to stare at the bassist. 

"Well, obviously, he fell." Alec said, turning to look at the ravine. "Fuck. _Fuckfuck."_

Standing up, Alec stormed over to the ravine, clutching the cloth in his hand and looking desperately over the cliff. The water wasn't deep - three feet at most, enough to drown a person. Alec felt his heart seize. ' _What if he was knocked unconscious and drowned down there?'_ He thought. 

Time seemed to freeze, like a clock without any batteries in it. Richie came up and stood beside Alec in silent reassurance. "What do we do?" He asked quietly, as if speaking too loudly would ruin everything. 

Alec slowly shook his head, unsure. He didn't know what to do, and he didn't know how to tell Richie that. 

**Tuesday 7:45 AM**

"Oh, where the hell are they?" Tico sighed as he curled into himself even more, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible. "Be fast, I say. It's gonna fucking rain, I say. It's been an hour." He shook his head and leaned back against the tree, tilting his head and feeling the cold rain land on his face. "We don't have any bottles, do we?" 

"No." Jon mumbled, pulling at a loose hem from his shirt, looking like a dog who'd just gotten kicked in the ribs. 

Tico opened his mouth. The water had a strange aftertaste, but he didn't care to be dehydrated on top of everything else. "Get some water in you, Jon. Not having any water will make things worse." Tico said, licking his lips. 

If he'd have been awake, Tico would've told Bryce to do the same, but the other man was dozing off, and probably wouldn't take well to being woken up. Jon had somehow managed to clean away most of the blood from Bryce's cuts, but they didn't have any bandages, and nobody could afford to go without a jacket or shirt.

Although he didn't dare to voice his concerns aloud, Tico was returning back to his concerns about Bryce's life, and that he might've just saved it, only to prolong the inevitable. Had Tico done the wrong thing? He bit on his thumbnail and looked at Bryce, wondering if he had just sentenced Bryce to a longer, more painful death than the bear would've given him. 

A strange, gasping noise caught Tico's attention, and he looked at Bryce, but beneath his baseball cap, his face was calm and his body still, save for his rising and falling chest. Tico turned to look at Jon, and saw that he was biting his hand to keep himself from sobbing too loudly. 

"Oh, Jonny." Tico sighed. "They're fine. They probably just - oh, I dunno, found a place to ride out the rain." He hoped that was true, anyways. 

"What if - what if David's _dead?"_ Jon wiped furiously at his eyes, but the tears kept on coming. "What if he's dead and Rich and Alec are on a wild fucking goose chase and then in a few days we go and find his body and he's at the bottom of a cliff or got mauled by the fucking bear or he starved?" Jon sniffed. 

Tico blinked, trying to make sense of the words. He felt at a loss when it came to trying to comfort Jon, especially when he had no idea if what he was saying was even true. "He's fine. David is the kind of person that defies the odds. He just got lost, Jon." Tico stood up and walked over to where Jon was sitting at the other end of their makeshift camp. 

"But he's so fucking clueless!" Jon sobbed. 

If not for the increasingly serious situation at hand, Tico would've laughed. He bit down hard on his tongue to keep himself from doing so. "If David can get accepted into Julliard, then he can survive for a few hours out there." Tico said. 

Jon took a deep breath, looking away to wipe the tears from his face. He looked disappointed, angry, scared. Jon didn't cry, not even when he was close to passing out from near exhaustion and with his throat giving him more trouble than it was worth. Tico sighed, rubbing Jon's back. "They're all okay." He said. 

From his spot, Bryce's head lolled, and his eyes opened, looking like he'd been startled from his sleep. "It's coming for me." He said. "It's coming - it's gonna get me - tear me apart like a fucking fish - " Bryce grabbed at his chest, eyes wide and hands frantic. 

Faster than Tico could blink, Jon was standing up and jogging over to Bryce, falling to his knees like a man at prayer. "Hey, hey, calm down, buddy." Jon said in a calm, even tone. 

" _It's coming for me it's coming IT'S COMING!"_ Bryce lashed out with his fist, opening his mouth into a scream that seemed too loud, too pitched. Jon ducked out of the way before he got hit, trying to grab Bryce's wrists before somebody got hurt. 

Tico hurried over, grabbing Bryce's hands and forcing them down. "Stop it." He said through gritted teeth. "It _will_ come if you keep fucking shouting your head off like that." 

But Bryce didn't stop - in fact, he only got louder. 

**Tuesday 8:00 AM**

Everything was foggy, hazy. Shadows danced in the light. There was the distinct feeling of being watched. For a minute, David felt like he was about to wake up, and then he drifted back into the land of oblivion. 

"Wake up, boy." Ben said, rough and hoarse. There was the sound of metal against metal, and a searing pain. "Hey. Wake up." He repeated. 

David didn't want to wake up. He was exhausted, and the darkness provided temporary relief to his pain. 

There was a screeching noise, like a chair being dragged against the floor. A sigh, and then a splash of something cold against David's face. He woke up, gasping like a dying man, coughing and choking as the water slipped into his mouth. The water made him start shivering, and David rested his head back onto the bed below him, shocked back to life. 

Looking pleased, Ben set the bucket down on the floor and then sat down on a nearby chair. "I was starting to worry that I'd lost ya', boy." He said, folding his hands on his lap, leaning back with raised eyebrows. 

David had wished he had been lost. He blinked, feeling like he'd just gone through hell and back. He felt breathless. "Oh." He said drowsily. 

In a way, David hadn't known what he'd been expecting when he woke up, but this wasn't it. It wasn't this by a fucking long shot. He was too out of it to feel any real pain, and the world seemed to be tilting off its axle. His head lolled, and he looked around the dark room. 

The room looked ominous. There was no furniture, no pictures, just an elk head hanging from the wall, staring at David with dead, black eyes. David forced his head to move, pulling weakly when he realized that there was something cold and metallic around his wrists. David pulled, and there was a faint jingling noise as he realized that he was wearing handcuffs, one side attached to his wrists and the other closed around the legs of the cot that he was laying on. 

"You see what I did?" Ben said, like an excited kid who wanted to show his parents the picture that he'd drawn. He shifted in the old chair, and the floorboards creaked underneath the weight. 

David frowned, twisting his head to see what had happened to his bad arm, and he saw that it, too, had been handcuffed. It was swollen, twisted at an odd angle that seemed unnatural. There were purple and green bruises on his usually pale skin. "How'd you do that?" David asked. 

"I, uh." Ben shrugged. "Listen, boy, this ain't nothing personnel, you know. I ain't doing this because you stumbled into my neck of the woods or something stupid like that. It's just, _who_ _I am,_ do you understand?" He asked. 

No, David didn't, but his mouth felt like a cotton ball had been stuffed inside and his tongue felt thick and heavy. His eyesight was all blurry. David rolled his head back so he could look toward the ceiling. He felt like he'd been drugged, but that wasn't it, really. ' _Am I dying?'_ He wondered. 

Ben sighed, rubbing his hands together. "So, I know that you know what's goin' on, so I figure that we can just skip all that, okay?" He looked startlingly calm. "The whole point is - I need to figure out what I'm gonna do with you, boy." 

The words didn't register in David's mind. He felt out of it, dazed and confused and like he was about to fall back asleep. The water that'd managed to make it into his mouth made his stomach turn, and David felt like he was about to be sick on top of everything else. 

"You see-" Ben continued. "-usually I let mine go, hunt 'em down like wild pigs. Do you know about wild pigs? I bet you don't. You're a city boy. No boy from around here has hair like that." He reached over, and something glinted in his hand. 

A knife. 

David went to flinch, but a bolt of pain went through his back, and he stifled a whimper as the knife came closer and closer. Ben pushed away some of David's hair, and then lightly dragged the knife along his face. David gasped, feeling a small pinprick of pain when Ben pushed the knife too hard. The blood from the cut felt hot, and it trickled down David's face. 

"You're too hurt. One step, and you're gone for." Ben continued. "But I always like a little fight." His knife trailed down to the soft, fleshy side of David's throat. 

The fear made David want to jump from his skin. He was shaking but he didn't realize it. His arm was burning in pain. The knife felt cold and sharp, the blade slowly dragging along his throat. Ben looked happy - giddy, in fact. "Scared?"

"Please don't." David swallowed harshly as the knife inched closer and closer to his Adam's apple. The pain was becoming clearer. He hurt, so bad. Every thought was a swim through a stormy sea. "I don't wanna - die - please don't - " 

Ben shushed him, slow and almost sweet, like a mother to her infant. "I'm very close to one of your arteries, _David Bryan Rashbaum."_ He said. 

A small, pitiful cry inched its way out of David's throat, and he shut his eyes tightly. He tried to think of The Lord's Prayer, but he couldn't think of anything except the knife against his neck and the pain in his body. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now...I can sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Tuesday 8:30 AM**

Alec couldn't believe that they'd only been - _here -_ for a day. A day! Their manager was probably dead, their agent was more than likely dying, their goddamn keyboardist was missing, and it'd only been a day. He sighed, stuffing the cloth into his jacket pocket and zipping it up. 

It was still raining heavily, but Alec figured that they should probably get back to their wannabe camp and tell Tico and Jon what was going on. Although the exact time was a mystery, Alec figured that awhile had passed. "Let's head back." He said quietly after a lengthy few minutes of staring down at the ravine for any signs of anybody. 

"Yeah. Okay." Richie nodded, and he pressed his lips thinly, running his hand through his hair. "Maybe he made it out." He said, but the words sounded weak and he didn't seem all that convinced of what he was saying. Richie looked down one last time, hoping to see something but, at the same time, praying that David was okay and that their worst fears hadn't yet come true. 

Tilting his head back, Alec licked his lips, and it was only at that moment that he realized how thirsty he was. He hadn't had anything to drink since before the bus crash. Alec cupped his hands and watched as the clear liquid gathered there. "I don't think he's dead." He said. 

Richie turned and looked at Alec. "But...?" He prompted. 

Unsure for a moment, Alec bit his lip. " _But_ he's in trouble. I can feel it." He pressed one of his hands against his heart and felt it beat rapidly against his ribcage. 

Silent, Richie stared, looking torn between emotions in his dark eyes. His fists clenched and then they loosened, palms up. Richie looked up at the stormy sky, perhaps thinking of so many things, of how his own life was hanging in the balance, of how his friends' lives were hanging in the balance, of how there was a goddamn bear stalking them. 

In the distance, there was a sound. 

Alec stiffened, the hair on the beck of his neck sticking up. He turned his head, mouth open in question. 

The sound came again - a scream. 

For a minute, and that minute only, Alec was taken back to the last concert that they'd done before this whole shitshow had started. He remembered that they'd been backstage - Jon had been running around like a chicken with his head cut off and Richie was trying to calm him down and Tico was smoking as he admired some girl and Alec had hid behind a box full of equipment and waited for David to come back from his room. 

David had screamed, scared for a split second before he tossed a jacket at Alec and started yelling at him. But he hadn't been _scared,_ per say - panicked, yes, but his subconscious had recognized Alec as not being a threat. This scream? It was afraid, and it was in pain. 

"Please don't tell me that's him." Richie said faintly, staring at Alec through his sopping bangs. But he already knew the answer - and Alec did, too. They both knew it a little too well, but despite that, it didn't make things any easier in the goddamn slightest. 

The screams had come from across the ravine, in the cloudy distance, obscured by trees beyond trees. Alec growled in frustration, kicking at another rock and watching as it sailed across the air and landed in the ravine with a barely audible splash. 

Desperately, Richie looked left and right, but the ravine seemed endless. He looked down, feeling his heart beating unpleasantly fast in his chest. "We could make it." He said. 

"Like Hell we could." Alec snapped, but then he paused, and he thought about it. 

Admittedly, Alec's measurements weren't the best, but by his rough estimation, he assumed that the walls on either side of the ravine were seven feet high, give or take a few inches. They were both tall people - then again, so was David - and, with the rocks to help pull them up, Alec wondered if they could make it. 

The idea of being trapped down there wasn't exactly appetizing, but Alec knew that they had to get across one way or another. "You're right." He said breathlessly, feeling panic begin to well in his chest like a bubble. 

"Good." Richie said, and then he walked over to the edge of the cliff. He sat down, legs dangling, clenching a fistful of dirt, as if that would keep him from falling. 

Alec didn't particularly want to go back over there, but David was in trouble, so he did it, anyways. He sat beside Richie, shoulders brushing against each other's as they both looked down toward the water. The rain was coming down harder and harder, making the dirt slick and clumpy. 

A moment of silence seemed to stretch into an eternity, and Alec frowned, turning to stare at Richie, whose eyes had widened considerably. 

"Dude? Are you okay?" Alec asked. "You can't freak out on me now." 

Richie took a deep breath. "I'm scared of heights - I know, it's only like a seven feet and it probably won't hurt but that's a lot, okay?" He shook his head. "I'm fuckin' terrified right now." 

"Don't be." Alec said, but he could tell that Richie wasn't too convinced by those two words, so he paused, looking out toward the distance in thought. ' _Tico is gonna kill me if I say something.'_ Alec thought, but hey, the bear was probably going go get to him, first, so Tico didn't seem all that scary. In that moment, anyways, which didn't say much. 

Another scream - fainter, this time. 

"I know about you and Jon." Alec said. 

"Wha - " Richie shrieked as he was, suddenly and quite unexpectedly, pushed off the cliff. He slipped and slided like a child off of a snowy mountain, and then landed in the water with a splash, coughing and sputtering, shaking his head like a wet dog. 

Alec took a deep breath and pushed himself off, expecting it to be something like a water slide and not being disappointed as he slid down the mud and then landed in the water, his shin throbbing from hitting it on a rock, but otherwise unharmed. 

Thankfully, Richie seemed similarly lucky as he stormed across the ravine. "How the hell do you know?" He demanded sharply. 

"Everybody knows, buddy." Alec replied. "Now, let's climb." 

**Tuesday 8:07 AM**

Bryce wouldn't shut the fuck up. He kept screaming, caught in what seemed like a hallucination. He thrashed and hit and kicked and, at one point, bit. He reopened one of his wounds and it started to bleed heavily. 

In all plain honesty, Tico was at the end of his frayed rope. He had comforted and said useless placations, but they didn't work. His fists clenched. The damn bear would probably hear Bryce and come running from the depths of the woods, intent on taking no prisoners. "Bryce, just - oh, for fuck's sake. _Just shut up."_ He hissed, beginning to feel his mild annoyance turn into anger. 

Suddenly, Bryce's fist lurched out in his hallucination, or whatever the cold hell it was. There was the sound of it connecting with flesh, and Jon jumped backwards like a cat who had just been kicked at, holding his face. 

" _Don't you two see it?"_ Bryce hissed, his face shockingly pallid. " _The bear!"_ He said.

Tico grunted, and he raised his fist. He had no idea if it would work but he needed for Bryce to shut up before the bear came to see what the whole big deal was and finish the job he'd started. He brought the fist down, and Bryce, startled, blinked and then he looked ahead, silent. 

The sudden quiet was startling, and Tico sighed in relief, his shoulders slumping down. "Jon? Are you okay?" He asked. 

"Um - yeah." Jon rubbed his cheek. "God, he's going nuts." He sighed. 

"Is it the blood loss?" Tico asked, suddenly aware of how bad Bryce's cuts were, and how much they were bleeding. His thrashing seemed to have awoken the blood that was slowly trickling down his shirt. 

Jon's silence said much more than any words could. "I need _something_ for the bleeding." He said, shivering in the rain, although it was calming significantly. 

"Leaves? Could leaves help?" Tico was grasping at straws, hoping but not knowing, doubting the words as they came into their flighty existence. "Eh, don't even answer that. _Fuck!"_

Blank-faced, Jon carefully inspected Bryce's scratches. His fingers were shaky as he pushed away what remained of the shirt, trying to be calm and careful, still as could be. "If he doesn't get any medical attention, or bandages, at the very least, then he's gonna - " Jon made a face, unable to say what he had been about to. 

"I shouldn't have saved him. What's worse, getting mauled to death or bleeding out?" Tico wasn't sure if he was really asking, or what he was asking. 

Jon looked at him reproachfully. "Don't ask things like that. Nothing is final until he's six feet underground." He said quietly. "You can't blame yourself for this, bud, not right now, and not ever." 

And then Jon turned back, his tongue between his teeth as he debated about what he was going to do. He had been a boy scout, not a doctor. The blood felt cold and dry, even as it seeped from the wounds, and then it was washed away by the rain. 

**Tuesday 8:45 AM**

When David had been five years old, he'd gotten stung by a bee. It had been the worst pain that he, at that point in time, had experienced. It'd itched like crazy and he'd gone around, crying and complaining until his mother had rubbed baking soda on it to get the itch to go away. Up until he'd hit twelve and broken his leg while climbing a tree, that had stood out to David as a hellish memory, and he had referred to it as the most painful thing he'd ever gone through. 

And now, at twenty-seven years old, that bee sting seemed almost innocuous. 

Ben had his knife out, and it was long - a hunter's knife with a curled blade. He was dragging it along David's skin, carving him up like a goddamn pumpkin. Ben was toying around, taking his sweet time. He seemed to be enjoying this deeply, in a way that made David feel small and weak as he realized how fucking doomed he really was. 

The cuts weren't bad, hardly worse than a cut David would get while cutting vegetables, but they hurt. He sobbed, twisting his head away when the knife raised toward his line of sight, dripping blood onto the floor.

"Scared?" Ben smiled, his teeth like jagged rocks. "I bet you are, boy. Sayreville ain't exactly full of crime, now, is it?" It wasn't a question, not really. Ben pulled a wallet out of his pants and tossed it onto the bed. It took a minute for David to see that it was his wallet. 

Ben jabbed David harshly in the cheek with the knife. "One thing you learn when you're in the business that I am for so long is to - eh, _cover all your bases._ And that means that I managed to find out a little bit about you." He raised his eyebrows. 

His lips clamped tightly shut, David tried not to listen. If he was going to die, then didn't want the last noise he heard to be that of his killer's. David strained to hear a noise outside, even something so slight as the wind blowing. But the rain seemed to have stopped, and David felt so alone when he recognized that fact. 

"You listenin' to me?" Ben grabbed David's chin and forced him to look back over until their eyes met. "You lived a sheltered life, boy. You never thought you'd meet someone like me, huh?" He grinned, as if he already knew his answer. 

David didn't answer. He didn't want to look at Ben. He didn't want to see that inhumane pleasure. Slowly, David's eyes drifted, and he stared at the elk head on the wall. ' _Oh, we're one in the same, you and me. Alone and dead.'_ David thought. 

The elk stared, blank eyes and peeled lips. 

A sigh, and then Ben smacked David. "Listen to me when I speak." 

For a moment, David only stared, and then he became aware of a throbbing pain that, in his daze and in face of the other pain, he hadn't noticed. But now, it was growing stronger and stronger, like an alarm in the distance. David turned his head away again, and looked at his arm which, in the last several minutes, had been jerked around like a confined rag doll. 

It looked - not normal. David didn't know, he couldn't find his words. All he could do was stare at it for a minute. He tried to flex his fingers but he couldn't feel them. "Oh." He mumbled.

Ben pat David's knee. "You won't have to deal with that long, boy." He said. "It'll be over, soon." But the words didn't seem true, they didn't seem right, and David knew that he was going to have a slow death, a painful one. 

Despite his wishes, David wouldn't get to play the keyboard again. He wouldn't be able to get married. He wouldn't be able to see the sun again, or tell the guys that he'd had a blast being on tour with them, even when they fought. David wouldn't see his parents again, or his sister. 

In the dull reality, it was all over. 

Standing up with a groan, Ben put the knife back in its holder on his belt and pat it once, his hand thumping against the leather. "Well, I gotta go get some stuff ready, so you just stay here, okay?" He grinned again. "So don't move." Ben tossed his head back and laughed -( _he sounded like he was choking) -_ and then walked out of the room. 

And David was alone, bleeding and scared. He pulled gently on the handcuffs, but they clinked uselessly, and the metal dug into his wrist so he just dropped it and stared up at the ceiling. 

The idea of dying alone scared David more than any pain that Ben could inflict on him. He didn't want to take his last breaths and be alone. But maybe, he didn't have to be, David realized, as he twisted and looked at the other end of the handcuffs, which were attached to the bed legs and, if the bed was lifted, he could sneak out of. 

But the idea was useless, because David had no way of doing that, now, did he? 

**Tuesday 8:50 AM**

"They better not have gotten lost." Jon said, mostly to himself, but also to the ant that was crawling on his boot. "I mean, I think we both know - you and me - that my little mental breakdown was totally uncalled for. I mean, yeah, okay, there's a bear stalking us and three of my friends are lost and the other one is currently beating up a tree, but still. Crying? _In the middle of the woods?_ Pathetic." 

Tico sighed and kicked the trees one last time before he turned around and stared at Jon. "Lost your mind, then?" He said in a thin voice. 

"No." Jon didn't sound convinced. 

Too much time had passed, Tico knew, for nothing to have happened. The rain had slowed down and was now a mere, pathetic trickle. Tico hated that they didn't have anything to catch the remaining water with to preserve, because who knew when it would rain again? Or, rather, who knew when they would find another source of water? Tico didn't know, and he doubted that anybody else did. 

Jon stood up, crossed his arms, and glanced at Bryce before sighing. "I gotta go to the bathroom." He said simply before moving across the 'camp' and into the trees before a response could be given. 

"Don't go far!" Tico called out. "I don't need to lose another one..." He added in a quiet mutter, walking over to Bryce and crouching down beside the other man. 

Truth be told, although Tico didn't know how much truth it really was, Bryce looked like death had warmed over. He was pale. Blood streaked his skin. They didn't have anything to clean him up with so Jon had done the best he could with the rain and a few leaves, a sight that would've been humorous if it wasn't so sad.

Bryce was drifting in and out of a faint sleep, his eyes going from wide open to closed in less than a split second. Tico wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, if he was supposed to talk to him, assuage whatever fears he had of the world beyond this, try to comfort him, give him peace. Tico wasn't even sure if Bryce wanted to see the man who had, essentially, doomed him. 

There was a rustling noise, and Tico turned around sharply, searching the trees with a hurried gaze. He couldn't see anything, but his senses were now on high alert, praying that the bear hadn't decided to come and pay a visit. 

" _Jon?"_ Tico said in a faint voice. He inched toward Bryce, slow and steady. "Jon, come back." He felt his back hit a tree, and Tico stood there, seemingly frozen in combined fear and terrible knowledge that, if there was an animal, it could come from anywhere. 

Tico looked down at Bryce and saw that he was asleep again. He looked back up, his heart pounding. "Jon, come back." He said in a louder voice. 

"I'm coming." Jon said, suddenly walking into view, wiping his hands on his pants with a rather disgusted look on his face. Tico grabbed his arm and pulled him until they were side-by-side, hearing Jon make a disgruntled noise and open his mouth but that's when the rustling noise came louder and closer. 

Shutting his mouth, Jon looked at Tico, raised his eyebrows. "That's too small to be the bear." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Good to know." Tico said, not releasing his tight grip on Jon's arm, perhaps out of fear that, if he did, then whatever animal could come running towards them and they would be separated. "Is there coyotes around here?" He asked. 

Jon shrugged. "Wolves, probably. Bears and wolves and deer. Birds. All sorts of things." He replied. 

The idea of it being a wolf didn't do anything to soothe away Tico's fears, but then he caught a flash in the corner of his eye and he whirled around to see a squirrel staring at them. It was chestnut brown, with black eyes and a twitching nose, a disturbingly cute sight after everything that had happened in the last day or so that they'd been stuck, lost and alone. 

For a moment, the squirrel stared at them and they stared at it, shocked and relieved. The squirrel tilted it's tiny head and made a chittering noise, fluffing its tail and then running down the length of the tree. 

Tico started to laugh. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and laughed quietly, feeling slightly hysterical. "Oh, God. I thought the bear was gonna come back." He said, leaning down over his knees, shaking his head. 

**Tuesday 9:20 AM**

The mud was slippery, wet, and hard to climb up. Richie grunted, digging his boots into the ground and pulling himself up and over the edge, rolling onto his back and staring up at the sky, his chest heaving. He hadn't expected to get a full blown excercise down there, really. 

Alec appeared, grunting as he pulled himself up and just sat there on his knees, breathless and cold. He was soaking wet, having fallen into the water more than once while climbing. Alec looked down at his hand, examining a cut that he'd gotten when he'd lost his footing while grabbing onto a rock, but it wasn't particularly deep so he just looked back up, glaring out at the trees. 

Silence, besides their own harsh breathing, had fallen, which should've been relieving, except it only served to worsen Alec's worry. He clenched his teeth in frustration, straining his ears to hear the slightest noise, whether it be talking or crying or screaming. 

It had taken them way longer than previously planned to get across the ravine, and for all anybody knew, David was already dead. Alec cursed loudly and got to his feet, wildly looking around him, unsure of what direction the screams had been coming from. 

"Rich? Richie, get up." Alec decided that the screams had come from the opposite direction. He wondered, since the bear was on the other side of the ravine, if something - or somebody - else had made David scream. Alec wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, and settled for not thinking about it. 

"Okay. I'm coming." Richie stumbled to his feet. "Where are we going?" He asked. 

Alec pointed ahead. "We're gonna go straight. That's where the screaming was coming from, I think." He felt somewhat confident in himself, anyways. 

"You better be right, Al." Richie said wearily. 

**Tuesday 9:30 AM**

Drifting in and out of a faint unconsciousness, David startled awake when the door slammed and Ben walked back into the room. He didn't know how much time had passed, but David knew, in reality, that he was about to die. For awhile after being left alone, he had tried to pull his hand from the handcuffs that they'd trapped in, but nothing had worked. 

"You alright, boy? You look pale." Ben commented. "Although, I 'spose that it doesn't matter." He added after a moment or two of silence. 

David couldn't help but feel a spark of anger in his chest. "Fuck you." He muttered.

"Oh, we're getting feisty, now?" Ben snickered, looking deeply amused. He set down a previously unnoticed hunting rifle, leaning it against a corner on the wall so it didn't fall over. He dug around in his pocket, and pulled out a keyring, jingling slightly as metal clashed against metal. 

It took a moment for David's mind to connect the pieces. His heart seized, and he suddenly felt fear replace the anger. "What - what are you gonna do?" He asked. 

Ben shrugged. "You'll just have to wait and see." He replied. "I like surprises. Do you like surprises?" He walked foward, the wood creaking against his footsteps as he crouched down and began to fiddle with the keys. 

Being so close to Ben felt disgusting, and David pulled back, panic curling in his chest and striking out against his heart like a snake. Ben found the key and unlocked one of the handcuffs, grabbing David's arm before he had the chance to pull it close. "I like a little fight - but no funny business, got it?" He said.

The idea of doing anything but nodding felt like suicide, so David bobbed his head in agreement. Ben looked pleased, and he stood up, crossing over to the other side of the bed and crouching down again to get the other handcuff unlocked. 

David looked down at his wrist and saw visible indentations from where the metal had cut into his skin. "Why?" He asked. 

"Why _not?"_ Ben sighed. "I don't think that you would understand." He paused, almost as if in thought. "Or would you? Would you understand what would drive a human to commit unspeakable acts against their fellow people?" 

"I don't know." David winced as Ben grabbed his arm and wrenched him toward the ground, making him fall off the bed and onto the ground. The motion sent a terrible jolt of pain throughout one side of his body. 

"And I don't expect you to." Ben said calmly. He grabbed a fistful of David's shirt and pulled him up into a standing position. They were close - too close. Ben grinned slowly, lecherously. "You ready, boy?" 

The question wasn't one that needed or deserved an answer. It was all the same, really. Whatever David answered, the events would play out all the same, and it would all be over because he'd be dead. He had never expected such a thing to happen to him - to be trapped in the clutches of a murderer while lost in the woods. David and the rest of the guys should've long been in Vancouver, with their muscles aching and heads pounding but hey, they would at least be safe and alive. 

Now, David suddenly felt a cold sensation all throughout his body. Ben was pulling him out of the room because David's legs wouldn't cooperate with him from a strange combination of fear and exhaustion. The main room of the cabin smelt sickeningly sweet, and David curled his nose. 

Ben's grip was tight, his fingers bunched up around David's shirt, practically dragging him along the floor as David tried and failed to preserve the last remnants of his dignity. Splinters dug into David's hand, and they stung. The smell got even worse as they progressed, and then Ben let go of David and he fell to the ground. 

Breathless, David rolled onto his stomach and then pushed himself up. He didn't know how to react to his situation - to fight and scream, to plead and beg, to just sit there and take it. The options were endless, really. "Listen, my friends - " David started, his voice hoarse. "I won't tell anybody about you, I swear to _God."_

"Tempting offer, you see, but no can do." Ben stood back, his mouth twisting. "Do you know how hard it is to find good company these days?" He grinned like the cat who had found curiosity and survived it, pleased and smug and knowing. 

David felt his cuts sting as he pulled himself backwards, hitting the wall before he knew it, desperate to get away. He couldn't walk for anything, though. Ben was scrawny but surprisingly strong underneath his worn overalls. "Please." He said. 

The knife looked sharper than it had earlier. His blood was still streaked on the metal blade. The sight made David feel like a scared child and he pressed himself against the wall, as if it could protect him. 

Didn't murderers usually keep their victims alive for a few days to enjoy the thrill of it all? David had thought so, but as Ben stepped closer and closer, he realized that seemingly so long had passed that Ben was eager for his new prize, and couldn't wait for awhile more. 

' _You're stronger than this. Smarter than this. You can't just sit there while he kills you, Davy. Don't you wanna come home?'_ Oh, look, there was his father's voice, coming to join the goddamn party. Hors d'oeuvres's, anybody? 

The knife came at him, glaring but not fatal, and David dodged, maybe out of instinct, but also because he didn't want to die. He tried to stand up but his legs gave out on him so David kicked at a table and it landed near Ben, not that it would help much, but the effort counted. 

"And that's what I'm talking about." Ben said. 

David wants to tell him to shut up. He wanted to scream it like he did on stage, but then the knife came again, and again, and again. David scrambled backwards, his right arm useless and pulled close to his body, his left arm pulling at the wood to drag his body back and away from the knife and the fucking lunatic who was swinging it. 

In the distance, there came a noise. Yelling? David didn't know, but then the knife caught on his cheek and he yelped, startled and surprised and hurt. The blood felt cold and it ran down, dripping to the floor. 

With a snarl that was eerily reminiscent of a wild animal, Ben grabbed David's leg and pulled him down. David lost his balance and slipped onto his back, suddenly in the same position that he'd been in before. Ben had his knife poised and prepped, and David couldn't believe this, he really couldn't. 

' _This isn't the end.'_ David's father's voice said, but it sure as hell felt like it. ' _This isn't going to be your last stand, son. Fight until you can't anymore. Fight until you're dead on the floor. Whatever it takes is good enough.'_

David screamed as the knife slashed at his knee, tearing his jeans and soaking them with wet, dark blood. He kicked and managed to implant his foot on Ben's shin, making himself stumble back. The knife fell to the ground. Ben's body hit a table and there was the sound of glass shattering as a lamp that was there fell to the ground. 

The lamp, David had just noticed, was one among several that were helping in lighting up the dark cabin. Millions of tiny shards scattered across the floor, and the cabin was suddenly alight as the tiny, controlled fire suddenly had wood to thrive on. 

Ben yelled out. " _No, no, no, no!_ Fuck!" He scrambled around and found a blanket that had been tossed on the back of a couch, and he threw it towards the fire but, like an ancient deity who had just been given a new sacrifice, the fire ate it up and seemed to grow. 

Dazed for a moment, David couldn't help but look at the fire and feel strangely entranced by its yellow and orange flames. The heat was strong and intense, though, and snapped him out of it quickly enough. David got back into a sitting position and looked around. 

There were, as luck would have it, no windows. Just a door, single and standing. 

Panic made David clumsy, and as he dragged himself across the floor, he hit a wall and cracked his knee against the leg of the couch before clutching onto the wall and pulling himself up. His legs were shaky and weak, and when David tried the doorknob, it turned an inch either way and then stilled. 

' _The keys, Davy. The keys, go get the keys.'_

A hand curled into his hair and tossed David backwards, making him fall back against the couch and toward the floor. The fire was making an intense heat, and smoke was beginning to plume. David tried to take a breath but it hurt and he started to cough. 

Ben pushed David onto the floor. " _Stay!"_ He yelled, like he was talking to an unruly dog, but there were no intentions for David to do such a thing and he tried to get back up, suddenly very determined and very panicked. 

The air was beginning to get hazy, and it was hard to see. David began to cough, and his eyes watered, although that might've been from the pain. He tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing, and then the knife came again and the answer popped into his brain. 

Suddenly, David knew that he was supposed to get the keys. He tried to figure pit how, ignoring the sudden pain that blossomed when the knife tore at his shoulder, slashing at his jacket. David kicked Ben's knees from under him and the older man went tumbling, dropping the knife, which skidded across the floor. 

Quickly, and with the fire quickly growing, David crawled over and found the keys, attached to their loop on Ben's belt. There was a faint relief that quickly disappeared when Ben suddenly lashed out and hit David on the head with the palm of his hand. It didn't hurt, but it did stun David, and in that split second of dazed confusion, Ben grabbed David by his broken arm and twisted it like he'd done before, knowing how to control him, incapacitate him long enough. 

David yelled out, feeling one of the bones press up against his skin and the searing, white-hot pain. He swung out with his fist and hit Ben, feeling something delicate and bony break under his knuckles. Ben howled and fell back, clutching his nose as blood dripped to the floor. 

The fire...the heat...the smoke...it was too much. 

Dizzy and exhausted, with pain stinging at his body, David coughed, leaning over as the smoke stung his throat. He looked up and saw that the fire had spread to most of the other side of the cabin, creeping into the rooms like a stranger in the night. There was a terrible creaking noise, and David felt tears burn at his eyes as he coughed until he was close to gagging. 

Ben, enraged and with his nose twisted and pushed in, grabbed David and tossed him against the wall. 

For David to say that everything went black would be a lie. In truth, his head banged against the wall, and the world began to look like one of those mirrors that stood inside of a tent at a fair - twisted and warped. David shut his eyes tightly and he saw his childhood, fleeting moments of laughter, holidays and birthdays and normal days.

His mother holding his hand at a zoo. His father guiding him on his bike. His sister playing pretend with him. Laughter and tears and sadness and happiness, a cacophony of days that David had long forgotten about. A life before a life. A family that would never see their son and brother again. 

**Tuesday 9:55 AM**

Richie's feet were just beginning to hurt when he smelt smoke, and his mind went to cigarette before it went to a fire. He thought about how he would just about kill for a cigarette, even though he wasn't really a smoker. And then Richie thought about the bus, and how it had exploded into flames, wondering if anybody had found the wreckage yet, if they were even being looked for. 

"Do you smell that?" Alec asked sharply. He paused, and sniffed, his dark eyes widened in alarm. "That's smoke." He added, as if Richie couldn't smell it, or maybe he just needed to confirm it with himself. 

"Yeah." Richie said. 

Alec frowned, and then he started walking quickly, until his walk was more of a run and he was dodging past trees. He jumped over a log, startling several small animals in his haste to find out the source of the smoke, and Richie followed behind, feeling the air became heavy as they neared the source. 

Suddenly, the trees pulled away into a clearing, and Richie skidded to a stop in front of a cabin. It looked old, with gnarled logs and an old truck that'd been torn apart and had its engine and several pieces laying out on a blanket beside it. 

Most of the cabin and been overtaken in a fire, and the roof looked like it was beginning to cave in through the middle. The sight was terrifying enough on its own, but then Richie heard yelling, and a thumping noise as somebody rammed their body into the front door, which shook but did not break. 

"Shit!" Alec remarked succinctly before running across the yard. 

Richie really didn't want to get close to the fire, but knew that he needed to help, so he ran over, too, standing aside as Alec came to a stop in front of the door and looked at it carefully. 

Opening his mouth, Richie was about to ask about what Alec planned on doing. 

"Stand back!" Alec yelled, stepping back a foot or so. "Whoever you are, stand back!" He repeated once more before raising his foot and slamming it just below the doorknob. The door slammed open, revealing smoke and flames and a white-haired old man who stood there with blood streaking his face. 

A second passed, and then the old man came running out, coming to a stop just a few feet away. He looked like a hunter, with his overalls and camo jacket, but there was something unspoken about him, dangerous and intent. 

"Is there anybody else?" Alec asked, but there was something in his voice that implied that he didn't want to go inside, and likely wouldn't. Whoever else was in there was likely dead, anyways, but Alec seemed to be too determined to be quit. 

"No!" The old man yelled. 

But yet, Richie heard a faint coughing sound. It was hoarse and rough but the old man's lips were clamped shut thinly and Alec tensed, his shoulders raising as he twisted his head toward the door. 

The heat was almost unbearable. Richie couldn't believe that the cabin was still standing, and he didn't dare believe that somebody else was in there, alive enough to still be coughing. He looked at Alec, and saw something in his eyes that spoke more than any words ever could. 

Richie stepped foward, his foot raising and lowering onto the wooden planks below. He felt terrified but knew that he couldn't just stand there like an idiot, his thoughts racing at a speed beyond light. 

"No, you stay!" Alec pushed Richie back, hard enough to make him stumble back onto the dirt. "Stay right here!" He yelled, and then he was running into the house. 

**Tuesday 10:02 AM**

Alec was certain that he was about to die, but he didn't think about that as he ran into the burning cabin. He thought about his girlfriend, Jane, who was somewhere in LA and probably thinking that he was just off-schedule. He thought about his parents, probably worried sick like they always were. 

Truth be told, Alec wondered about Richie and Jon and Tico and David, and hell, even Bryce, and prayed that they found safety without him. In some way, Alec had almost been assuming that he'd lead them to safety, for some ridiculous reason. He didn't know why, but in what he assumed were his last minutes, Alec apologized silently for his moments of being selfish and self-important, for acting like a jerk. 

A part of him wanted to just stay outside, to say that there was nothing to be done for that one person who couldn't be saved, but Alec couldn't, he just couldn't, and he'd pushed Richie back and hoped that he would go to camp and not linger, not be a hero. 

The smoke felt like a thick, heavy blanket, and the fire was intense. Alec pulled his shirt up and over his nose and mouth, which didn't help much but was better than nothing. He looked around, seeing broken pieces of wood and dark blood on the floor and a slender figure, slumped against the wall. 

Alec, unsure of whether to be relieved or angry, got to his knees and blindly grabbed for the person. He heard a pained whimper, like an injured animal. His hand brushed up against tangled strands of hair. 

In the combined darkness and light, Alec saw a familiar face, and his heart leaped for The Heavens. He almost couldn't believe it. "David! Wake up!" He yelled. 

But David's head lolled and he simply sat there, his coughs having morphed into a terrible silence. But his chest rose and fell, stuttered and hesitant but it did and that was all that mattered. 

Knowing that their time was limited, Alec forced back his own coughs and wrapped one of his arms underneath David's back, making him feel halfway before Alec's shoulder blocked him. He tucked his other arm underneath David's knees, took a deep breath that made his chest ache, and lifted. 

David was surprisingly light, but he was unconscious, or close to it, anyways, which made it hard for Alec to get to safety while carrying a man who was essentially dead weight. But they were close to the door, and Richie was there, his eyes widening in shock. 

Together, with not a single word passed between them, Alec and Richie walked away from the cabin and back into the trees. At the beginning of the line, Alec fell to his knees and set David down. There was a lot of blood, and in the distance of his foggy mind, Alec thought - ' _It was a fire. He shouldn't be bleeding.'_

Alec felt his throat tickle and he coughed, heavy and raspy. "Dave." He said, grabbing the blonde by his shoulders and lightly shaking him. "David." Alec pressed a hand against David's cheek, and he saw a cut on the other man's cheekbone, which looked strangely deliberate. 

Silent, David didn't move. 

Suddenly, Richie jumped to his feet and, so fast that he was like an inhuman blur, ran across the yard. He yelled out what sounded like a curse, and then came the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Alec turned around and saw that Ben had managed to recover himself enough to get onto his feet and start stalking towards them, a sharp hunting knife in his hand. 

Richie was punching the old man, wrestling him down toward the ground, kicking up leaves as a deep rumbling sound came from the cabin, like from the mouth of a monster who remained deep inside of its cave but armed intruders not to enter. 

Alec turned back. "David, buddy, wake up." He felt the first bit of urgency creep into his voice, and heard it, too. It ashamed him but Alec said it again, hoping beyond hope that his friend would wake up. 

"C'mon. Wake up." Alec said in a louder tone. David was too young to die, and despite their differences, Alec suddenly felt pale and scared at the thought of spending another day _anywhere_ without David and his stupid jokes. "Wake up, right now." Alec didn't notice that he was starting to cry until a tear trickled down his nose and he wiped it away. 

The cabin had disappeared amongst the flames. 

Everything was in slow motion - Richie stood up, holding the pen knife in his hand as Ben writhed around on the ground like a dying fish. The cabin collapsed in a roar of splintering wood. 

David moved his head, and then his eyes opened. He made a noise at the back of his throat, and then started to cough, heavy and loud. Alec pulled him into a sitting position so David didn't choke, looking up at Richie, whose face broke in relief just before he whirled back around and then placed his boot atop the old man's back to push him down. 

"Breath. Breathe." Alec said, placing his hand at the back of David's neck. "Take a deep breath." He heard David cough, saw his brushed and swollen arm, saw the cuts and the blood, and then Alec raised his hand and pressed it against David's skull, feeling a bump the side of a goose egg on the back of the blonde's head. 

Eventually, the coughing turned into heavy, terrible sobs. Alec didn't know what to do or say, so he just carefully wrapped his arm arund David's back and saw the helplessness in Richie's dark eyes as they stared at each other. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Tuesday 10:15 AM**

An eternity could've passed, and Alec would've been none the wiser. He felt helpless and angry, looking up at the sun as it became fully visible from over the tree line, and then back at Richie who had stepped away from the old man by now, but only by a few inches. The old man hsd propped himself up against the tree and was staring put toward the distance. 

Alec sighed, and he squeezed the back of David's neck. "What happened?" He asked in the kindest voice he could muster, which wasn't really one of his talents but it was needed, Alec supposed, especially now. The question seemed rhetorical, in a way. 

The fire was still blazing, but they were far enough away that it wouldn't be an issue, not at that specific moment, anyways. Alec had coughed for awhile longer before his lungs had begun to feel halfway normal, but his throat still felt scratchy and rough. He wouldn't been concerned, if he wasn't too busy trying to figure out how the hell they were going to cross the ravine now. 

David had fallen silent, his head tilted down, face blank. "I fell down a ravine." He muttered, as of that explained everything. David's voice sounded like he'd been chewing gravel, and it sounded strange to Alec's ears, like this wasn't the David that he knew. 

"Obviously." Alec said, picking at a dried leaf that was clinging to David's hair. "I mean, what happened - _here?"_ He really didn't know what he was expecting as an answer, but he figured that it was going to be bad. 

"I don't - he - " David shook his head, and then he closed his eyes again. "It's very blurry." He said. 

"Christ." Richie placed his hands on his hips, looking torn between anger and intense curiosity. He bent down and grabbed the knife that he'd knocked from the old man's grip during their scuffle. "Jesus H. Christ." Richie repeated, as if the first one wasn't enough. 

Alec winced. "Do you remember _anything_ at all?" He implored. 

"I remember the ravine." David pulled the sleeve of his jacket up and wiped underneath his nose. "I remember running and then I fell. And then I started walking but I couldn't because I was so _tired."_ David paused. "And then he - " His eyes widened, and suddenly, he began to cry again. 

"And then he what?" Alec wasn't sure what he expected to hear, but he supposed that anything wasn't much of a stretch. A part of him didn't want to hear anything, but he knew that some words needed to be said, and some events needed to be confessed. Alec rubbed David's back, hoping that the touch would bring him back down to reality. 

"He cut me. With the knife." David said quietly. "He tied me to the bed and cut me with the knife." He sounded scared, and his eyes flickered up the old man, even though they were nearly on separate sides of the clearing. 

Sharply, Alec turned and he stared at the old man, who didn't seem to be paying attention to anything that was going on around him. Alec's free hand clenched into a fist, and then he forced himself to take a deep breath. ' _Not now.'_ He thought to himself, and then he turned back. 

The cuts weren't too deep, Alec saw. But they looked painful, and one particularly deep one on the side David's neck was bleeding. Alec found himself fighting down his anger again, repeating that it wasn't the time, not now, not yet. 

"Okay." Alec said, relieved that nothing worse had happened, at least, but his blood ran cold at the thought of what might've happened if things had gone sideways. "Did anything else happen? Where are you hurt?" He dreaded the answers that would come. 

David had his eyes closed. He shook his head slightly. "Um, my arm." He said. 

"How bad is it?" Richie asked, his voice filled with concern. He couldn't move from his spot, and seemed unwilling to, anyways. Richie seemed immensely uncomfortable with holding the bloodied knife, and was holding it halfway away from his body, where the old man couldn't grab it but it wouldn't get onto Richie's clothes, as if that was important anymore. "It better not be bad, man." 

With a sigh, Alec cursed that Jon wasn't there to determine how bad David's injuries really were. He didn't have the slightest clue about anything medical, but he tried, anyways. Alec looked down at David's arm, and all he knew was that it looked a lot worse, somehow, than it had earlier. "I don't know." Alec confessed. 

Slowly and carefully, Alec grabbed David's arm. It looked bruised and swollen, and the mere sight alone made Alec feel nervous. "You broke again." It wasn't a real question, and Alec hated it. 

David nodded shakily. "When I fell." He said. "I'm sorry." 

"About what?" Alec tried to remember what Jon had did on their first night, but his mind came up blank. He let go of David's arm. "We need to get back to the other three." He said. 

"Thanks, Sherlock." Richie said, his voice tinted in sarcasm. "But how are we going to get David over the ravine, and what are we gonna do about - _him?"_ He motioned to the old man. 

"I don't know. Come over, here." Alec said, waving Richie over. He hoped that maybe Richie knew a little bit more than he did, at least enough to judge if they could make the journey back to the camp. 

Richie gave one last look at the old man, but he didn't have much of a real choice, so he started walking toward them. He looked over at the fire, but it hadn't grew because of how isolated it was from the trees, which Alec was immensely grateful for, because he'd had enough of fires in the last day.

There was a certain unspoken weariness in the air. Richie crouched down beside the other two with a speculative frown, unsure and worried. He just wanted to go home, already. Richie wanted to sleep in his own bed, eat something, drink water that didn't come directly from the sky. 

David winced. "Please stop touching it." He said quietly. 

"I'm sorry." Alec said. "I'm just - it looks worse, okay?" He rubbed David's back in sympathy, trying to comfort him, at least somewhat. 

"Holy shit." Richie said rather succinctly, shaking his teeth, looking rather awed as he stood back up and walked back. "We have to be back one way or another." 

And then Richie grabbed the old man by the collar of his jacket and slammed him up against the tree. "We have to be back!" He yelled, pulling the old man forward and then back again. 

The old man groaned. "That's s'not my fault." He said, baring his bloodied teeth. 

"Rich - " Alec stood up, but then Richie tossed the old man to the ground and threw his hands up in the sky. "For fuck's sake, _not now!"_ Alec hissed, following quickly behind the guitarist. 

"It's all his fucking fault!" Richie yelled, and then he turned and threw the knife across the clearing, where it hit a tree and fell to the ground. "This sick motherfucker is the reason that we can't just head back now!" He grabbed the old man by his jacket and threw him back against the tree, reeling back and punching him in the face. 

Alec grabbed Richie by his elbows and dragged him backwards. "Not now, not now, _later!"_ Alec backed away, dragging Richie along the ground and away from the old man, who was holding his nose with a greatly pained expression on his bloodies face. 

"Why fucking not?" Richie ducked out of Alec's grip and straightened up. "As far as I'm concerned, he could be dead and nobody would bat an eye!" 

"Not. Now." Alec repeated, enunciating the words carefully. "David is hurt. I don't care what happens after that, but I can't have you freaking out on me right now because I can't get David back without your help." He said calmly. 

Richie looked like he was about to argue, but then his face broke, and his shoulders slumped, looking down and nodding his head. "Okay. I'm sorry." He said after a moment of silence, his voice lower and calmer, seemingly understanding what was being said. 

Opening his mouth, Alec was about to reply but a sharp scream interrupted whatever he was about to say. Alec's heart seized, but then he noticed that the old man hadn't moved from his spot, and he whirled around, knowing what he was about to say but hoping against hope that it wouldn't be what he feared. 

Since they were on the other side of the ravine, Alec had hoped that there wouldn't be any bears, but, now, he knew that he'd been stupid to assume such a reckless thing. His shoulders stiffened, and he watched as the bear, puffing and huffing, stepped toward David, who was staring at it with wide eyes. 

"Oh, God." Richie moaned. "What the fuck, that's the _same one!"_ He shook Alec slightly, as if to get the knowledge through his brain quickly. 

Alec nodded. "I know." He said, feeling strangely calm, even though his heart was doing unpleasant things in his chest. He looked at the bear, and then he looked down at David. 

**Tuesday 10:30 AM**

"Maybe they just got lost." Tico said. "Maybe - maybe David is hurt and they're having trouble getting him back." He was grasping at straws, desperation making him struggle to come up with possilities as to why they were still alone. 

In reality, Tico feared that something much worse had happened. He kicked at a pile of leaves on the ground and watched as they stirred in the air. His stomach ached and his mouth was dry. Usually, Tico would've reasoned a nonsense placation to himself about rain, but there was no use, now. 

Jon shook his head. "No. It's something else, I - I feel it." His hair was sticking up in random directions, and Jon smoothed his hand over the wayward strands almost compulsively. 

"Okay." Tico said, looking back down. "I'm sure they're okay." He added, feeling as if it would be bad luck not to say something else to assure everybody that Richie and Alec and David were okay, that they were alive. 

"I hope so." Jon whispered, and, for a moment, he looked like he was about to start crying again, but then he turned away from Tico and stared out toward the distance, where the trees rustled in the slight wind and the endless wilderness seemed to stretch on into the eternity. "It's only been a day. I know that. But it feels like its been forever." He said, and it sounded like a confession from deep within his soul. 

Tico nodded. "Nature does that to people." He replied. 

"The day that we've been out here feels like a week." Jon said, sitting down and wrapping his arms around his legs. "I'm scared. What if the bear comes back? Oh, God, what if the bear followed Richie and Alec? What if he found David, Tico?" 

"I don't know." Tico said. "But you can't fall into that mindset. You have to be calm and just keep your chin up. This isn't forever." But then he looked at Bryce and wondered if it would be forever for the one man in their group who wouldn't get a second chance after this. 

Jon caught Tico's eye and he looked down, burying his face in his knees. 

Nothing would ever be the same after this, Tico knew. Doc was probably dead, and Bryce might as well already be considered dead. Tico walked over and sat down beside Jon, wrapping his arm around the other man's shoulders. "They're okay, Jon." Tico said. 

**Tuesday 10:35 AM**

In a split second, Alec felt his breath speed up, and he had yet another decision to make, one that could end with death for everybody involved. 

Just as Alec sidled foward so he could grab David, the old man suddenly moved away, falling backwards from the tree and scrambling backwards. He was about to run, Alec knew. The old fuck was about to run and then the bear turned and roared, his jowls flapping with the motion. 

The bear started to sprint toward the old man. It was a different bear, Alec thought, because this one was bigger and fatter. The bear was quicker, too. It crossed the clearing and covered the old man with his body. 

" _Ohmygod."_ Richie said breathlessly, bending down and grabbing the knife, clutching it tightly in his hand, even though it likely wouldn't do much good. He stared at the scene that was happening, and then Alec grabbed his arm and pulled him away. 

In the back of his mind, Alec was disturbed at the lack of sympathy that he felt for the old man. He wondered if that was cruel. But then he was grabbing David and pulling him up and David gasped in pain and Alec decided that, no, he didn't have any sympathy for the old man. 

Richie pushed Alec. "Runrunrunrun." He kept saying. 

The old man was screaming. He was screaming and screaming, in pain and scared and he was crying, too. He was still screaming when the three of them ran into the trees, with Alec trying to keep David standing as his legs tried to give out on him and Richie looked back, eyes wide and afraid. 

Suddenly, there was a terrible sound, faint but so, so loud, and then silence. 

It was worse than the screaming. 

David yelped, and he fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily, looking tired and groggy. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "It's all so - so - I can't see." David shut his eyes and shook his head. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick." He said. 

"No, you're not." Alec wrapped his arms around David's chest and pulled him back into a standing position. "Just breath, okay?" He whispered. "Breath, in and out."

Richie crouched down. "Maybe we can just hide out here." He said, even though he didn't sound so convinced that it was a viable option. 

But it would have to be, anyways, because David suddenly fell to his knees, dries leaves and twice suddenly crinkling underneath his knees. He buried his face in his hands. "My head hurts really bad." He said. 

"Okay." Alec said. He could feel David's face against his hands and he felt like he had a fever. "We have to get near more trees, but yeah..we're not getting anywhere right now." He said. 

It took a few long minutes, but, eventually, they all managed to maneuver to a crowded circle of trees with enough leaves and arms in the air to block the sun that was shining brightly through the sky. 

Richie sat down heavily against a tree, the knife clutched tightly in his hands, listening for any sign of the bear. He looked up at the dark leaves, and sighed. 

Close to the side, Alec sat down, and David rested his head against Alec's shoulder. He was breathing heavily. "I'm sorry." He said. "Everything is just really blurry." He said. 

"It's okay. We probably wouldn't get far, anyways." Alec said. "We'll be fine." 

"I hope that Jon and Teek are being left alone, at least." Richie said. "One lose for one win, right?" 

"Yeah." Alec agreed, nodding his head. "They'll be okay, too." 


	13. Chapter 13

**Tuesday 11:00 AM**

A strange silence had fallen over the woods. No birds, no insects, just the same silence that seemed to seep into Alec's mind and punctuate everything that'd just happened. He looked down at his hands and realized that, underneath his fingernails, dried blood had gathered. Alec frowned. "We should get moving." He said, and his voice sounded weak and unsure. 

Richie's head bobbed and he looked up, having fallen asleep. He blinked. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Has everything been....quiet?" Richie made a face when he said that, as if he wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about. 

"As a Church." Alec answered, and he nodded. "We really need to get back to Tico and Jon, anyways." He added, but it was more to convince himself than the other two. Alec didn't want to get eaten alive by a vicious bear, and hardly thought that it'd helpful to the situation at hand. 

"Okay." Richie agreed, and he sounded calm, ready to go and do as told. But then he paused. "Like, you're really sure?" His eyes widened slightly. 

"Yes." Alec nodded again. "No growls, no footsteps, no nothing." He hadn't even heard the other wildlife, but that didn't seem like important information. 

Richie stared at Alec for a minute, as if trying to find a lie, and then he nodded, perhaps a little reluctantly. "Let's do it, then." Richie agreed, leaning forward and arching until a distinct _pop_ sounded as he cracked his back. 

"Okay. Let's go, then." Alec said, and he forced himself to be sure of those words and the sudden decision that he'd just spent ten minutes stewing on. He didn't have any other choice, anyways. 

Time flew in the wilderness, with no clocks or controlled schedules. Alec didn't have a watch, and so he'd been staring at the sky, debating about when the sun would go back down, and not wanting to still be on the other side of the ravine when it did. 

If they were all going to die out here, Alec supposed, they were going to die together, either eaten by a bear or starved to death, and as the sky began to darken in immediate warning, Alec knew that they didn't have much time. He didn't want to die here on the other side of the ravine. He didn't want to die anywhere, really, but that was a little more tricky to figure out. 

David shifted, and he stiffened. "Ow." He said. "Ow, that hurts." David repeated, and his face was scrunched together when he straightened fully. 

"What?" Alec turned to look, unsure if he really wanted to know what was wrong but knowing he didn't have an option. "What hurts?" 

"Nothing." David said. "Everything." He added. "I don't know." There was a certain look to David's pale face that suggested he wasn't going to be able to stand up, that this whole thing was for nothing. 

"What hurts, then? I need an answer." Alec felt like a parent at that moment, he really did. He didn't know any answer he expected and didn't know what answer he needed or wanted, because the whole situation was up in the air at that moment, unsure and uncertain of its place. 

David closed his eyes. "I just feel sick." He answered. 

From his place a few feet away, Richie looked around, feeling increasingly useless and really wishing that he was at some pool in a nice hotel, admiring Jon like the hopeless admirer that he was. The idea of going back through the ravine made something unpleasant twist and turn in Richie's stomach. The idea of being eaten by a hungry bear did even worse things. 

"Like what?" Alec prodded, knowing that he was probably making things worse but figuring that it was better than _not_ knowing. He shifted as his knees cramped and then stood up fully, only then realizing as he was in more of an open space how cold it felt. 

"Like I'm about to throw up." David's gaze wandered, and he shivered. 

Alec sighed and crouched down again, grabbing David by his arm and pulling him foward. He reached out and pressed his hand, fingers searching, against the messy tangles that made up of David's hair, and he felt the bump again. "Does that hurt?" He asked, and the answer came when David flinched away from the touch a second later. 

"Yeah." David said. 

Unable to be quiet any longer, Richie walked foward. "What does that mean?" He asked, but he didn't want the answer. He wanted for everything to be okay again, for them to all be together and alive and for their lives to _not_ be hanging in the balance like they didn't matter. 

"You know what it means." Alec said, rubbing his face tiredly. He didn't want to say anything aloud, and even though he knew at the back of his mind, Alec didn't know truly and wouldn't trust it the word if he said it, anyways. 

With wide eyes, David stared at both of them. "What?" He asked sharply. 

"Nothing." Alec answered. "We need to get moving. We don't have a lot of time." 

Maybe it wasn't right, to not tell David that a lot of things were wrong with him, but Alec couldn't allow him to panic. If push came to shove, then he needed to stall until they got back to Tico and Jon and prayed to God that Jon would know how to handle things. 

David managed to push himself up, his fingers digging into the tree bark and boots pushing back against the leaves. He did look like he was about to be sick, and like the only thing that was keeping him from passing out was sheer determination. 

Despite this, Alec knew that nobody would get very far with David limping along like a wounded puppy, and so he stepped forward so that David could wrap his arm around Alec's shoulder and they would hobble along together. If the bear came along, then they were dead meat, anyways. 

"Want me to?" Richie asked, looking over his shoulder from where he'd turned to look out toward the trees to see if there was anything beyond what seemed like miles of trees and leaves. 

Alec shook his head. "No, you go ahead, see if you can find the ravine." 

**Tuesday 11:18 AM**

Bryce was getting sweaty, feverish. Even in the cold, wintry air, he looked damn near like he was about to have heat stroke. His head tossed and lolled, and his eyes were wild behind his closed eyelids. 

Helpless, Jon watched, sitting in front of Bryce with his arms wrapped around his legs. He knew that Bryce was dying, and that, logically, Jon couldn't do a single damn thing about it, but that didn't mean that he felt okay just watching as, slowly but surely, Bryce died from a simultaneous lack of medical attention and blood loss, his life got in an instant, just blown out like a match. 

They'd been out there for a single day, and yet somebody was already dying. Jon sniffed, wincing as he brushed his hair away from his head and accidentally touched the cut on his head. Jon tried to remember what his father had told him about survival and what to do when somebody was bleeding out, but his mind came up blank and empty. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you." Jon whispered, shivering as a gust of cold air hit him. "I'm sorry that I can't remember." But even if Jon could remember, then the information would probably be useless, anyways. 

It was getting cold, and it was getting cold fast. Jon shifted and distantly wondered if Richie, Alec or David were wearing a second shirt or something underneath their jackets that could be spared to lessen the blood, but knew that they probably didn't. Jon bit the edge of his thumbnail, looking at Bryce's face, which was simultaneously pallid and red. 

Jon shivered again. "God, this is so fucking stupid." He whispered, and he tilted his head toward the sky. His stomach hurt from the lack of substance and his mouth felt dry. "One fucking mistake. _One!"_ Jon felt tears of frustration burn in his eyes, and he wiped them away. 

From the woods, Tico reappeared. He was already beginning to look like some grizzled mountain man, with his stubble already beginning to form into an actual beard. "How's he doing?" Tico asked, nodding his head toward Bryce, as if physically unable to say his name. 

"Terrible." Jon said, and he sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "He won't make it unless we somehow find help in the - oh, I don't know. If I could find something to stem the blood flow, I guess, we could prolong it, but...." Jon trailed off and left the unfinished sentence to hang in the air. 

"I feel fucking selfish." Tico sat down against a tree. "But it's too _cold_ to sacrifice clothes." He said. 

"I know. Maybe one of the other guys has something." Jon don't sound convinced as he looked over his shoulder. "And the blood - " He suddenly cut himself off. 

"What?" Tico asked. 

Jon shook his head. "Nothing." He replied stiffly. "Nothing, it doesn't matter." 

But it did, and Tico knew it. He leaned foward, dark eyes intent. "What?" He repeated in a firmer voice.

Playing with his fingers, Jon shrugged, suddenly feeling small and oddly embarrassed. "The blood's gonna attract animals." He said softly. 

Tico stared for a minute, and then he nodded, sitting back against the tree and looking at the leaves as they swayed and shook in the wind. The bear would come back soon, Tico knew. It'd come and it would kill one of them. Maybe it would finish off the job with Bryce, or maybe it would go for somebody else. 

Silent, Jon turned and began to dig. He clawed at the ground like a wild animal, tossing leaves and dirt and rocks over his shoulder and near his legs. 

"What are you doing?" Tico asked, feeling as if he'd been suddenly pushed into the Twilight Zone. He rubbed the back of his neck when the tree bark bit into it. 

"Water." Jon replied shortly. 

Tico blinked. "Water comes from the other way up, Jonny." He said. 

Turning around, Jon looked like he was done with the world. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was pinched. He had a bruise on the side of his face from when Bryce hit him. "Water from the rain fell into the soil. It's still there. Not a lot, but enough." Jon replied. 

"Oh." Tico wasn't exactly sure if that would work, since it'd been awhile and the rain has likely evaporated by now, but Jon seemed determined and Tico decided that something to distract Jon from their impending doom would do the younger man some good. "Okay." He said. 

**Tuesday 11:40 AM**

Nothing made sense. The world was foggy and distant. The voices coming from all around him didn't make proper sentences and broke off before they could make sense. The cliff below him seemed like millions of miles were stretched on.

"I can't do it." David's voice was slurred, and he felt unsteady. "Too far. Too far." He made sense in his own mind, anyways. The dirt felt wet, David noticed, and he squished it between his fists. 

"Yes, you can." Alec said. "You did it once already." 

"When I was _running."_ David felt scared. His heart was beating rapidly against his chest, and the idea of pushing himself off and letting himself fall off the ravine seemed to be a very, very bad one. "And it wasn't on purpose." He added. 

From below, Richie splayed his hands. "Just trust us." He said. "I was afraid of heights, and then Alec pushed me off the ravine cliff and, look at me now! I got down no problemó." 

David frantically felt around him and grabbed onto Alec's arm. "Please don't push me." He whispered. 

"I'm not going to push you." Alec replied in an even tone, giving Richie a rather venomous look from the corner of his eye. "We can go down nice and steady. I'm here, Richie's down there, and on the other side, Tico and Jon are waiting for us." But a creeping of uncertainty was there. Alec wasn't sure if anybody would be waiting for them - not because Tico and Jon would leave, but because the bear could've gotten them. 

And David, in the depths of his murky mind, knew it. "I don't wanna fall." He said. 

"No, no, here's the deal. You're going to position yourself on those two rocks below you, and Richie's gonna help you down all the way, and then we'll figure out how to get you up the other side." Alec replied. 

Pressing his lips thinly together, David felt a gust of cold wind hit his back. "Do you promise?" He asked. 

Alec sighed. "Yes. I promise." 

There was no other way, David knew. Either he did as told, or he was essentially dooming Alec and Richie. Although, David thought, they'd probably just leave him behind. He looked down. "Okay." He said, sensing that there was no other options to be considered. 

"Good." Alec sounded suspiciously prideful as he reached over and wrapped his arms around David's chest, hooked underneath his arms. "Nice and steady." 

David carefully inched over to the edge, wincing as Alec accidentally jostled his bad arm. He felt like he was about to fall for a minute, and David felt like his heart had stopped for that minute, but then his feet hit a rock, which was steady underneath his weight. "Alec, no, don't - " He started to say when he felt Alec let go rather abruptly, leaving him sitting rather unsteadily on the rock. 

"Calm down." Alec said. He was unnaturally calm, and his hands were steady. 

It suddenly felt hard to breath. David forced himself to do so, anyways, sucking in the cold air as it burned his lungs. The ground looked very far away, and David didn't care if it was ridiculous, but he was suddenly very terrified. "Oh God." He whispered, shutting his eyes tightly. "OhGodOhGod." David shook his head. 

"I don't wanna die don't let me die." David didn't even know he was talking until the words hit his ears. "Don't let me die _please!"_

"You're not gonna die. You're gonna unfold your legs and jump down and I'm gonna catch you." Richie said. "It's gonna make you feel embarassed, Davy, because it's not as bad as you think it is." He said. 

There was a lot of things David wanted to say, but then he unfolded his legs and allowed himself to fall from the rock because he knew that he would only stay there forever, listening to the wind as it howled, and now was his chance so the adrenaline made David's heart beat and the hairs on the back of his stand up. 

For a moment, David became convinced that it was a never-ending height and that he was going to fall and fall until eternity broke but then his feet hit the ground and his knees buckled and there were hands on his shoulders and torso and they kept him steady and upright. 

"Hey, hey, calm down." Richie said. "You're on the ground. It's all over, huh? Not so bad after all." He added in a light tone. 

David knew that he was standing, that the ground was firm underneath his body, and he felt like he couldn't catch his breath but he nodded anyways. It was just as bad as he'd thought it would be, David wanted to say. But he didn't, and he just rubbed his arm as sharp spikes of pain were injected into the broken bones. 

A moment later, Alec appeared, rubbing his shin as he skittered to a stop on the even ground. He briefly looked himself over, and then looked back up, smiling a little awkwardly. "Well, that's done and over with." He said. 

**Tuesday 12:00 AM**

"Oh, hell yeah!" Jon felt like patting himself on the back, just for this small accomplishment. He smiled, pleased as he dug further, pushing away the dirt as it tried to fall back into the small hole that he'd made. 

Tico's eyes popped open. "What?" He said, wincing as his back cramped from having sat in the same position for such a long time. 

"Water, buddy." Jon grinned, cupping his hands in the hole and bringing them back up so that Tico could see the water glistening in his palms. "It's ain't a lot, but it's something, anyways." 

Standing up on shaky legs, Tico walked over, knowing that they would need more water than what was provided by that tiny hole, but deciding that it'd be enough, if only for now. Hunger was bad enough, but dehydration would only end in a terrible fail. He hunched over and cupped his hands, pressing the palms against his lips. 

The water tasted like dirt, but it was cold and refreshing and Tico sighed, relieved for the blissful wetness. He cupped another handful and stood up again, walking over to Bryce, who was either asleep or doing a damn good imitation of it. 

Tico crouched down. "Hey, buddy." He whispered. "I've got some water for you." 

"Hmm?" Bryce's head lolled, and then his eyes, gladly and unfocused, opened slowly. " _W - w -_ water?" He perked up a little bit at the suggestion. 

"Yup. Thank Jon for that." Tico held his hands up. 

It was a clumsy effort, with droplets of water spilling down onto the leaves and dirt, turning Bryce's blue shirt with little circles of black. But Bryce drank all that was given, and Tico figured that was well enough. He walked back to the hole, which Jon had abandoned in favor of digging through some nearby bushes. 

Bryce drank some more, and then he blinked, looking around the small little clearing that they were in. "Has the bear been back?" Bryce asked. The water seemed to have revived him somewhat, despite the somewhat distant gaze in his eyes that suggested some haziness that was left over. 

"No." Tico shook his head and sat back. 

"There's...two - no - three of you missing. Where's the crazy-haired one?" Bryce looked around, his face pinched in confusion. His face had regained at least some of his color, and looked healthier, anyways. 

It was a miracle what a little water could do. Tico smiled, finding amusement creep up from the most unexpected source. "The 'crazy-haired' one ran away from the bear, remember? And Alec and Richie went to go look for him." Tico replied. 

"Oh. Good luck to 'em, crazy bastards." Bryce waved his hand through the air, and then he closed his eyes again. 

**Tuesday 12:30 AM**

"How far did you go, man?" Richie paused, leaving down and rubbing his legs tiredly. "I feel like we've been walking for years." He sighed and leaned down, taking several deep breaths as his lungs began to ache. They'd been walking for what seemes like hours, but had likely only been minutes. 

David didn't know. He'd ran until the idea of the bear having not followed had entered his mind. "I don't know." He said, and he breathed in painfully. "I can't do this. Please just let me - " 

Without a word, Alec set David down beside a tree. "I know that it's tough, guys, but we have to keep moving." Alec felt like he was pushing a train, like he was going nowhere and stuck on an empty road. He looked at Richie, who was breathing heavily, and then at David, who had buried his face against his knees. 

The air seemed tense and heavy. Alec looked around, praying that they hadn't somehow lost their way, even though they'd been going the same straight line that they had been earlier. But in the woods, nothing seemed to be in the same order that it'd been in, earlier. 

Suddenly, Alec paused. He could hear something in the distance, but instead of it being the creeping feet of an approaching bear, it was the distant sound of talking. Actual, human talking, and Alec could've laughed except he suddenly felt like crying. 

Richie had heard it, too. He was looking at Alec, eyebrows raised in silent question and curiosity. They stared at each other, until it became impossible to sit still and Alec's leg began to bob up and down, up and down, his anxiety rising until it felt a bubble in his chest that was threatening to pop. 

"Hello?" Richie said, his voice soft and nervous and tentative. He looked at Alec and then backed away slowly. 

The talking, which, as Alec could hear, was more like angry muttering, came to a sudden stop. And then there came the sound of bushes rustling, and a familiar blonde head popped into view, and Alec had never seen so relieved to see it. 

Jon had leaves in his hair and he stared at all of them like they were ghosts from the other side of the veil. His face, blank and stoic, suddenly faltered, and a small smile pulled at his lips. "Hey." He whispered. 

**Tuesday 1:00 AM**

The silence was threatening to become overwhelming, but there was nothing more that could be said. Even though their lives were hanging in the balance, uncertain and afraid, Tico figured that, at least for now, being together and alive was better than being alive and apart. 

For awhile, Jon had sat by David and played doctor, a task that was delagated none too hesitantly. In the end, Jon had diagnosed a broken arm and concussion, although assured that David would survive on mere reassurance that he was conscious, coherent, and could remember everybody's names, including his own. 

"What happened?" Jon hissed once he'd returned to the other side of the clearing where Alec and Richie were sitting. He crouched down and stared intently at them, obviously expecting an answer, and a good one, too.

On the other side of the 'camp', Tico was sitting near David and Bryce, dividing up water. 

Alec shrugged. "We heard - screaming, and there was this cabin." He was picking at a scab on the back of his hand. "It was on fire, and there was this old guy, and he was all bloodied and talking about how there was nobody else inside but I went in there anyways, and Dave was in there." 

Raising his eyebrows, Jon simultaneously narrowed his eyes. "And..?" He prompted quietly. 

" _And_ then the guy tried to attack us with a knife and then a bear came and ate him." Richie said in a big breath of air, waving his hand around, as if he were a maestro. "Not _our_ bear. This one was bigger and fatter." 

Jon blinked, and, for a moment, he looked as if he was about to ask a question, but then he broke off and shook his head. "Fuckin' crazy." He muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

"Yeah. Hey, what happened to your face?" Richie suddenly reached out, having been to busy answering Tico's barrage of questions and making sure that David was okay to fully and completely see Jon. It felt like years had gone by in just a few hours, and that fully came into play as Richie rested his hand on the side of the other man's face. 

"Bryce was having a freak out." Jon replied, and he seemed to tense before signing. "I missed you." 

"I missed you, too." Richie smiled. "Let's not split up again, okay?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .......


	14. Chapter 14

**Tuesday 3:00 PM**

Tico knew that it was foolish, knew that they needed to get up and do something about the situation that they were in. But, just for now, he allowed himself to breath and thank God that they were together again. Being lost in the wilderness was bad enough without the overwhelming worry of not having the knowledge of his friends being safe and alive. 

Well, perhaps not _safe,_ but the bear hadn't returned, anyways, although, judging by what Alec had said, there was more than one bear, which meant that things were even worse than previously thought, if such a thing was even possible. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair tiredly, looking around their pathetic attempt at a circle. 

Silence had fallen over the group ever since they'd reunited. Bryce was thumbing through his wallet, his expression that of somebody who was forlorn and knowing as to what was coming. Alec was pulling at a loose thread on his shirt with determination, as if it'd take him to a better place than where he was at that moment. Richie and Jon were sitting together, heads bowed and speaking in low tones like two teenagers in the cafeteria. David was nearby, looking dazed and staring up at the sky, lips thin and eyes shadowed. 

The idea of breaking that silence felt strangely forbidden, and Tico didn't want to be that person who was hated for breaking the already cracked glass. But he needed to, anyways. Tico stood up, wincing as his knees protested with the motion. He smiled weakly, but it fell flat. "So, um, I think we should start deciding on a plan..." Tico rubbed his hands together nervously. 

"Oh, God. The last time we had any semblance of a 'plan', it fell apart before it even got started." Alec rubbed his temple, eyes closed, as if unable to stare and look at the disaster that was happening all around him. 

Tico decided not to admit that Alec had a point. "We can't just sit here and wait for the bear to come back." He said. "We have to make a plan and somehow find a way out of here." Tico could feel the desperation creep into his own voice, mingling with the need and want to be heard and understood. Tico knew that they were all exhausted and hungry and there wasn't enough water to completely quench their thirst, but they couldn't give up, not yet. 

"Okay. How?" Jon tilted his head, sounding genuine, but there was something sardonic in his tone that suggested that the idea of dying out in the wilderness had crossed his mind more than once. Tico couldn't blame him, but he really needed Jon on his side at that moment. 

"Well, we need to discuss it." Tico said, and he walked to the middle of the wannabe circle and sat down. "And calmly. We need to be calm and reasonable." 

"Oh, what's the point?" Bryce hadn't looked up from his Waller. "We're all gonna fuckin' die anyways, so there's no point in having any talks about it. You're gonna die and I'm gonna die and we're all gonna die." His eyes flickered up, as if he wanted to see their expressions. 

David made a weak noise at the back of his throat, and covered his eyes. "Don't say that, we can't...lose hope." He said softly, but the conviction in his voice was virtually nonexistent. 

"No, no...David's right, and Tico is, too. We have to stay strong and make a good plan." Richie said, straightening up. He looked a little bit more determined. "I mean, the road isn't that far away, right?" Richie raised his eyebrows in silent question as he looked around. 

"Yes! Not to mention that somebody has to have found the bus, or what remains of it, anyways." Tico nodded, relieved to finally have somebody in his corner. 

Jon looked up. "Do you think somebody's looking for us?" He asked. 

"They have to be." Alec said. "Maybe not in the right place, but we've all gone off the radar, haven't we?" He sat up slightly, as if the conversation and the idea of somebody looking for them had revived him somewhat. 

"It's only been a day, though." Tico paused, and thought about it. Only a day had passed, but they should've arrived at a hotel, at the very least, and Doc would've been in contact with people at the venue. The thought made his heart ache. Tico hadn't liked Doc, but his death, or the idea of it, anyways, wasn't one that he enjoyed. Tico frowned. "What if Doc isn't dead?" 

"He screamed." David mumbled. 

"You screamed." Alec replied. "And the last I checked, you're still alive." 

Jon looked out toward the woods, his tongue between his teeth. He wanted to believe that Doc was still alive, but his gut said otherwise. Jon sighed, feeling hopeless, and Richie's hand snaked up and pressed itself against Jon's back in silent comfort. "Or he's...almost dead." Jon cringed as he said the words. 

"Great, just what we'd need." Alec tossed his hands up in the air, pausing as the words settled in the air. "Sorry, Dave. Nothing against you, buddy, but we already have our hands full with you and Bryce..." Alec trailed off. 

David went to shrug, but he stopped himself as his arm ached in anticipated warning. "I know." He mumbled, feeling useless. 

"Maybe he's back to where we were back before the bear showed up." Tico suddenly said, squaring his shoulders, as if anticipating for a fight. 

"That's where we're going, right?" Richie asked. "I mean, that's really close to the road." He added a minute later. 

"Well, it wouldn't hurt anybody, least of all Doc." Tico said, looking around for any disagreements, but nobody seemed keen to argue. 

Jon nodded. "Sounds good to me." He said, deciding that just going with the flow and whatever was proposed was better than posing an argument. 

"Two wins." Alec nodded in approval, leaning backwards into the tree that he was sitting against. 

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, as if letting the plan settle into existence before they tried anything. Tico wondered if Bryce would even make the journey, but slapped the idea and shoved it back into the dark dredges of his mind from which it came. 

If David had a chance of making it, then Bryce, too. And, goddamnit, Tico was going to get them to a hospital, even if it killed him. 

With a weary sigh, Jon stood up, brushing the dirt from the legs of his pants as he looked up and stared at David. "Well, before we leave, we gotta fix your arm up again." Jon said in a voice torn between pleasant and irritated. 

"And _I'm_ not gonna be here for that." Alec said quickly, standing up and walking to the other side of the clearing, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed so he could look out toward the trees. 

"Didn't we just do this a few hours ago?" Richie said, but he smiled, anyways, and winked at David. "Are we doing the whole splint thing again, or are we over that?" 

Jon sighed, crouching down in front of David, wiping his dirtied hands on his shirt, although that wasn't likely to help at all. "What happened to the old one?" He asked, eyebrows raising in silent question. 

"When I fell, it just kinda came apart." David looked guilty, and he averted eye contact as Jon grabbed his arm with deceptively gentle hands. He knew perfectly well what was coming, and he had no want to see nor feel it happen. "Sorry." He added, as if it was his fault. 

"No, don't be." Jon replied. He scratched the side of his nose, placed one of his hands on his hip and the other on his knee, and frowned. It was a gesture of confusion and a weird suspicion, and as Jon continued to only look down and not say a single word. 

"What?" Tico asked, feeling sharp concern bubble in his chest. He moved to stand, knowing that he likely wouldn't get an answer. 

Jon put his hands up, looking startled, as if he had been jolted awake from a good dream. "No, it's just, um, nothing. Nothing serious." He brushed his hair out of the way and leaned forward, angling his body so that Tico couldn't see much of what was going on, but not enough that he couldn't see if he tried. 

It was a rough estimate, to assume infection, but Jon was pretty sure that's where the cuts on David's arms and the marks on his wrists were going to go if he didn't wash them. He wasn't an expert, but from what little information he'd gathered from reading magazines at the doctor's office, Jon trusted his own opinion, if only by a little. 

But, while the cuts and marks seemed to be heading that way, they weren't quite there. Jon's concern was mainly on a cut that was on David's neck, just a few inches from his Adam's apple. It had begun to swell, and the skin around it was beginning to streak red. Jon knew those were signs, and he wanted to kick himself, because he hadn't bothered to look up _ways to treat infection!_

David looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" He asked. 

"Nothing. Nothing." Jon raised his hand and briefly pressed it against David's forehead before lowering it and adjusting his grip on David's arm, trying not to stare at that cut. He knew David, and David would panic if he was told that one of his cuts was infected. Jon took a deep breath. "It shouldn't hurt so much as last time." He said, although that was more a guess than any real fact, more to comfort David than anything else. 

A moment later, there was a small _snap_ and then _click._ Jon's grip was tighter than it had been as he tried to figure out his previous hand placement and replicated it, and David yelped, raising his other hand to bite down on his skin and smother whatever noises would've come next. "Sorry. I'm sorry." Jon said, and his hands moved, creating an uncomfortable preassure. Then, there was another small yet so, so loud _snap_ and _click._

"God. I can fucking hear it." Alec walked further away, shaking his head, as if in disbelief over the fact that he was having to hear it. "I'm gonna go find some twigs." He called over his shoulder. 

Richie had his hands raised to press against his ears. "The simplest solutions always work the best!" He replied, sounding suspiciously smug. 

**Tuesday 3:30 PM**

"One of his cuts is infected. It's swollen and red, and he's got a fever." Jon whispered, his voice pitched and harsh as they stood to the side, away from where anybody could hear them. "The stupid fucking thing is that the next page of the magazine _told_ me how to treat infections but I didn't bother." Jon sounded exasperated, and he shook his head. 

"S'not your fault. You didn't know that we'd be lost in the wilderness." Tico crossed his arms and looked around to see if anybody was looking at them, maybe wondering what was so important that they needed to whisper about it. "I didn't know that I'd be tossed around the goddamn bathroom when all I wanted was a minute of peace and fucking quiet. Is he - coherent?" Tico didn't know if that was the proper word, but it sounded right. 

Jon nodded. "He's coherent, thank God. But he's isn't acting _normal._ He's dazed and out of it." He frowned. "I feel so useless with them." He said. 

Opening his mouth, Tico was about to ask who _them_ was, but then he remembered Bryce, and nodded. It was the cold truth, and one that they would need to live with. Tico shook his head, "It isn't your fault that you chose to be a singer instead of a doctor." He said. 

A small smile creeped on Jon's lips, but he forced them down. It didn't feel right to smile at that moment. It made him feel grotesque. "What do you wanna do?" 

Tico frowned. "Why am I having to be the leader right now?" He asked, but it wasn't a question, not really. He knew that he was the most reasonable person in the group, and that, consequently, he was being seen as the leader, the one who would guide them to safety. 

Shrugging, Jon looked over his shoulder. "The water from the ground is too dirty to wash the cut with. Maybe, if it rains again, or we can find a creak or a river or something, we can clean David's cut and Bryce's wounds." He said. 

But, as so far, water appeared scarce, and they both knew it. Tico rubbed his face tiredly. "Okay. Let's not tell Alec or Richie yet. They'll panic. Does David know anything about it?" Tico asked. 

"No." Jon answered. 

"Okay, that's good. Well, let's get moving. You take Dave, and Richie, Alec and I will take care of Bryce." Tico said. 

It wasn't a plan, not really. They were just going through a rough draft in assumption as to where they thought the camp was. For all anybody knew, they were going the completely opposite direction, but it was the best thing that anybody had, and they had to be content with that. 

Bryce didn't seem too happy with having to be moved, especially in such a crude manner, but didn't complain. Tico grabbed his arms, and Richie and Alec took his legs. Bryce, despite having not eaten, seemed even heavier than before, and Tico wondered if that meant that Bryce was too tired to even make the smallest effort of not being dead weight, not that he could be blamed for such a thing. 

Thankfully, David could walk, he just couldn't walk well. Jon hooked his arm around David's waist and, together, they were still walking faster than the other four could ever hope for, so they walked ahead. 

The ground was rough and rocky, riddled with holes and slopes. Jon frowned, glancing over his shoulder. "Be careful. There's a small slope here." He said, loudly enough that he would be heard from a few feet away. It was hard enough getting down with David, Lord knew that it'd be even worse when they were practically carrying somebody. 

"I never knew that there could be so many tiny hills." Alec complained. He could feel a steady throbbing in his shoulder, and knew that it was from when he'd had to carry David out of the cabin. Alec sighed, knowing that he'd strained a muscle, but thankful that it wasn't something even worse. 

"Or that it'd be so hard to keep track of where you are." Richie added. 

Tico nodded, carefully stepping backwards as he felt the ground dip. "You both can say that again." He said, and he felt a sudden itch at the back of his neck. 

Without the use of his hands, Tico shook his head, hoping that it was just some bug that'd decided to land on the back of his neck for whatever reason. There was a sudden, sharp pain, and Tico let go of one of Bryce's arms to slap at his skin. He didn't feel anything, but then Tico looked at his hand and saw that there was a squashed mosquito there. 

"Oh, great. Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Alec said, but it was all in vain. He sighed and looked around. "Fucking woods. My dad used to take me out camping with him. I loved it up until we forget the bug spray." He shook his head almost ruefully. 

There was a distant noise. Jon paused, his back ramrod straight. He pressed his finger against his lips, and David nodded. 

Richie cursed softly. "Fuck." He whispered, making eye contact with Tico, who nodded once as he bent his knees and lowered Bryce to the ground. The noise came again, and it was sound of rustling leaves. 

"Oh. Not again. Not fucking again." Alec remembered vividly how that bear had torn the old man apart. He didn't want to see that again. He, Richie and Tico lowered Bruce fully, and then Alex ducked down, his heart hammering uncomfortably in his ribs. 

A few feet away, David was pressed against the ground, his eyes shut tightly, undoubtedly remembering what had happened the last time a bear had made an appearance, and Jon was next to him, propped up on his elbow. Richie and Jon made eye contact, and that flicker of connection was enough that Richie took in a deep breath and told himself to calm down. 

The leaves rustled again. Jon pressed his hand against David's back, feeling the other man shiver against his touch as a bear emerged from the foliage. It was the same one from before, the one who had scratched Bryce. It puffed and huffed and stared at them with blank black eyes. 

"Fuck." David whined, his voice shaking. 

Jon watched as the bear stepped forward slowly. He didn't seem to notice the men that were gathered around him, and Jon could only thank God for that as the bear ambled foward and then pawed at a bush before tearing a chunk of leaves off of a branch. 

It was strangely peaceful. The bear snorted and chewed on the leaves as they fell from his jaws and onto the ground. He grunted and then started walking again, disappearing back through the trees. 

And it didn't come back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was good.


	15. Chapter 15

**Tuesday 4:00 PM**

It was a slow moving, with two injured people, and caution driving each and every tentative step. Although the woods had fallen silent, and their own breathing and the occasional grunt was the only noise that could be heard, which sent Alec's nerves through the roof as he tried to figure out where the fuck the birds had went. His legs felt like jelly, and his shoulders felt like nothing but useless slabs of fat, but he didn't want to stop. He couldn't stop. Alec was partially convinced that the moment he asked Tico for a momentary break, then that fucking bear would come and wreak Hell. 

But, thankfully, Alec didn't have to be that person to ask for a break in the middle of a long walk, one that seemed to be taking much longer than usual, because, as they approached a fallen log, David stumbled and Jon nearly went down with him, as if in testament to their situation. 

"Lemme down. Lemme down." David said, slapping weakly at Jon's shoulder, and with a nervous glance over his shoulder at Tico, Jon did as told and helped the other man down onto the log. David fell clumsily and buried his face against his knees, looking pale and sweating rather profusely despite the chill in the air, making strands of his hair cling to his forehead. 

Jon straightened up, his face pinched in concern. He rubbed the side of his face and exchanged another look with Tico, as if they were silently communicating through their gazes alone. "Five minutes." Tico said. 

"Oh, thank God." Richie sighed. 

"Speak for yourself." Alec replied, but he set Bryce down, just like all the rest, and leaned against a tree as his knees quivered. He felt out of breath, and his throat felt dry, and his stomach felt like it was shrinking. Alec knew that people had gone weeks without eating, but he was a city boy. He'd experienced hardship, but he had never felt starvation, and it wasn't even starvation. Alec knew that it was just the beginning signs of hunger, but he couldn't help the frustration that frayed at his mind. 

Looking around, Alec watched as everybody sat down, all of them probably as tired and hungry and thirsty as he was. He sunk down, tree barks scratching at his jacket and skin, sitting down on the dried leaves and listening as they crumbled underneath his weight.

Richie closed his eyes and tilted his face up toward the sky. "I'm so fucking hungry." He said, his voice suspiciously close to a whine. "I could gnaw off my arm and eat it." Richie sounded determined, too, and very sure of that statement. 

"Save that idea for later." Tico said, propping himself up on his arms. "Bryce? How are you holding up?" He asked, tilting his head and turning to the other man, his eyebrows raised in half-question. 

"Exhausted." Bryce mumbled. 

Alec sighed. "Says the man who has been carried for the last day." He said, and the sharpness of his words were unintended. 

" _Don't."_ Tico snapped. "We can't start arguing." He stared at Alec for a long, tense moment. " _Please,_ 'Lec." Tico added in a softer voice. 

"Ohhh...let him be a bitch about it." Bryce said. 

"Shut up." Jon said. "Bryce, just shut the fuck up, okay?" He dragged his hands through his hair, tongue between his teeth as he turned around and looked toward the dark trees. 

"Why do I have to shut up when he - he - " Bryce gestured vaguely toward Alec, who snarled. "He fucking started it with his whining." He tried to raise his head but it dropped back to the ground and lolled to the side. 

Tico rolled his eyes. "What a fucking mess." He muttered. 

"Why do we gotta fight, huh?" Richie spread his arms wide. "We need to stuck together, don't we?" He looked between everybody with wide, desperate eyes. 

Standing up, Alec found that his teeth were grit so hard that his jaw ached. He clenched his fists and stormed across the few feet that separated them, eyes dark and angry. Bryce's eyes were opened, albeit a little glazed. "And don't call me a bitch." Alec hissed. 

"Whatever." Bryce said. 

"I know that you don't think it matters, since you're dying and everything and maybe you wanna go out with a bang or whatever, but you can't spend your last hours insulting the people who have been carrying you for the last few hours, okay?" Alec said, and his voice was grave, grim. 

"Don't, Alec." Tico repeated. 

"No!" Alec whirled around and stared at the drummer, looking as if he'd been shoved over the edge. "This is fucking stupid, man! If you hadn't been a dumbass and risked everybody's lives for this asshole, then we wouldn't be in this position in the first fucking place!" Alec thrust one of his hands out and pointed to Bryce. 

Tico tried to bite his tongue, but his temper was as short as he was, and he didn't have much patience left. He wanted for nothing more than to just scream until his throat was raw and nothing else would come out other than faint whispers, to punch the ground until his hands ached. "Stop acting like you're some innocent victim in all of this!" He yelled. 

"Guys. Stop, now." Richie said, but his voice was drowned out. 

"Nobody said that!" Alec yelled back. "But you're acting like you're some great, smart survivalist when you've just make made things worse!" He kicked at the ground, and a rock was flung across the air. 

"Fuck off. At least I'm trying to do something useful instead of just whining about every little fucking thing." Tico replied heatedly. "Nothing's ever good enough for you, asshole." His lips twisted in a snarl. 

Alec stormed across the distance that separated them and grabbed Tico by the collar of his shirt. "You're _trying_ to help but you're fucking useless!" He spat. 

The sound of retching interrupted their harsh argument, and they both turned to find that David was on his knees, coughing and vomiting up whatever was in his stomach. Jon was the closest, and he hurried over, hesitating for a split second before he fell to his knees beside David's shaking, hunched body. 

From the other side, Richie groaned and turned away, looking pale. 

It was a sight that made Alec's heart twist, and he guiltily looked away. 

"Okay. Just calm down." Jon said, wrapping one of his arms around David's chest and pulling him up slightly. 

"It _hurts."_ David whined, and he raised his hand up and toward his neck. 

Jon quickly grabbed his hand. "No, don't touch that." He said, looking over his shoulder at Tico, who was watching, uncertain. 

"Don't touch what?" Richie asked, stopping foward, his face slowly regaining its usual color now that the vomiting had stopped. 

"Oh, God." Jon closed his eyes and shook his head. "Tico, help me out here." 

"One of his cuts is infected." Tico said. He didn't have the energy to fight anymore, and only stared at the other four men with a sad gaze. "He's...obviously sick." 

David looked up, a glassy look in his eyes. "What?" He mumbled, dazed. 

"That cut on your neck is infected." Jon explained, brushing David's hair away from his face in an almost apologetic manner. "The knife probably had all kinds of germs and shit on it." He grimaced, looking disgusted. 

A short stretch of silence followed that proclamation, shocked and confused and worried and angry from the fight that'd just taken place.

"So, what do we do now?" Alec asked. 

Richie took a deep breath. "Well, we should stop fighting, for one." He tossed his bangs away from his face. "And maybe we should try and figure out how to actually treat an infection." He added. 

Everybody turned and looked at Jon, who flushed. "I dunno." He mumbled, looking down. "I only saw the symptoms." Jon pressed his lips together into a thin line, looking embarrassed. 

"Well, we gotta clean it somehow, right?" Alec splayed his hands in the air, as if that was the most obvious answer in the world. 

"Yeah, but with clean water." Jon said. "From a stream." He finally looked up, and from the tone of his voice and the look on everybody else's faces, they all knew how much of a task that would have to end up being. 

Tico rubbed his chin, and winced as his hand brushed up against his scratchy stubble. "Okay. Okay. Alec? I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry about what I said." He needed to say it, knowing that the tension wouldn't do any good for the situation at a whole. 

"Yeah. I'm sorry, too." Alec sounded sincere, but his eyes were full of guilt and there was no wonder why. "Let's get moving." He said, and he turned back around and walked back to where Bryce had managed to prop himself up onto his hands, looking deeply confused. 

Slowly, Richie walked toward where Tico was standing. He looked eerily calm, but his dark eyes spoke much more than anything else could. "We gotta go, man, and we gotta stay cool. For David, okay?" Richie reached out and squeezed Tico's shoulder, and then he looked at where Jon was sitting, talking lowly to David, who looked like he was a second away from getting sick all over again. 

Nodding, Tico took a deep breath. "Yeah. Okay, let's go." He turned around, and walked to where Alec was standing, looking at Bryce with a strange look in his eyes that seemed to insinuate something beyond what he wanted to say. "Hey, what's wrong?" Tico asked, and it was a dumb question, he knew, because everything was wrong. 

"I didn't mean it." Alec said. "Saving Bryce was your only option, Teek. And I shouldn't have said anything 'bout it." He side-eyed Tico as the other man approached, looking unexpectedly weary, as if he expected a sharp reply instead of acceptance. 

Tico shrugged. "We both said things that we shouldn't have, Al. I don't hold it against you, and it just means that we need to just, I dunno, just keep our eyes on horizon. We need to get ourselves out of here, Jon and Richie out of here, and we really need to get Dave out." He smiled. "Let's forget about it, okay?" Tico knew that, when they got out of there and back to safety, they'd have to talk about it. 

But, for now, Alec would smile and nod back, knowing just the same, but that they were okay, even if just for now. 

**Tuesday 4:30 PM**

Twice more, David started gagging and they would stop like a bunch of little soldiers, waiting until only the silence greeted them once more before Jon would help David back up and they would continue on with their trek. On both occasions, David would just sit there, dry heaving but nothing would come out because he hadn't eaten in over a day, and his meagre little sips of water had been forced from his stomach the first time. 

Jon frowned, and suddenly held up his hand, which only seemed to further their image of a group of renegade soldiers. He looked somewhere to the right, eyebrows furrowed, silent. 

"What - " Tico went to say, opening his mouth but Jon shushed him. 

They stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what the hell had managed to catch Jon's attention, wondering if they had to duck down and pray they some asshole bear didn't kill them yet, and then Jon turned around. "Do you guys hear that?" He asked. 

"Um...no." Richie said, but he spoke too soon, and a split second later, he heard running water, audible but not loud, just beyond the sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling through the trees. "Wait, hold on." Richie craned his neck, and felt a grin tug at his lips as the noise registered in his brain. 

Jon smiled slowly. "I don't know where it's coming from, though." He added in a slightly apologetic tone. 

"Well, that's for one!" Alec suddenly looked, well, happy. He was grinning, as if the mere presence of water had exurberated him and made the idea of trekking through the woods like carrying a man between two other people worth it. "It's coming from the right." He jolted his head in the direction. 

"Okay, let's go then." Jon said. "Dave? You still with me?" He asked, shifting when the steady weight suddenly became heavy. 

David bobbed his head. "S'just tired." He mumbled. 

"I know." Jon shifted, feeling like his legs were about go give out again. "I'm gonna get you back home, okay, buddy? I'm gonna get you home." He whispered. 

As it turned out, Alec was right, a fact that became very evident as the sound of running water became louder. When they finally cleared the trees, they were greeted by the sight of a river, bordered by algae-covered rocks and a large clearing of trees that extended for what seemed like a few miles. 

Unable to contain himself, Richie let out a high-pitched sigh of relief that ended in a laugh, the mere sight of water seemingly like the first sign of rescue. He smiled, and they all stepped forward again. 

It was far from everything they needed to sustain themselves, but a water source seemed like hope. Jon and David were the first to reach it, and Jon set David down on the ground. David's head lolled to his shoulder, and he winced as the sun pierced his eyes. 

Tico looked around the clearing, and then nodded to a relatively set-aside place near a few rocks. "Set him down over there." He instructed, and Alec nodded, shuffling over, looking over at the river all the while. 

"Oh, finally. Some good fucking news." Richie sighed as they set Bryce down, grinning as he straightened up, hands on the small of his back, looking happier than he's looked in the last day. 

The area seemed oddly peaceful, as if they were in their own secret little bubble and nobody nor nothing could disturb them. Maybe it was the water, like something from a storybook, or it was the way that the sun hit the water and seemed to reflect back up at the sky. 

As David seemed to fall into a daze behind him, Jon crouched down and cupped his hands in the pleasantly warm water. He hesitated, and then quickly raised his hands to his lips. The water tasted much better than the little puddle in the dirt had, and Jon resisted the urge to do it again, turning around to start playing doctor yet again. 

"Does it hurt?" Jon asked. 

David nodded. "Like...it burns." He blinked, looking like he was about to fall asleep right there on the harsh ground. 

"I know, buddy." Jon carefully peeled away David's jacket collar from his neck, wincing when he realized that, at point, it'd started to bleed and the blood was sticking to the coarse material of his jacket. 

It was swollen, and the skin around it was red. Jon wished that he could take the jacket off completely, but he couldn't with David's arm, and so he just pulled it off of David's shoulder as best as he could. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you." Jon said as he carefully inspected the wound, wondering how much of sepsis was a concern, and not wanting the answer. 

David sniffed. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?" He whispered in a miserable voice. 

"No." Jon paused, and then he lightly rested his hands on either side of David's pale face. "I swear to God, David, I am going to get you out of here, okay? I am going to get you to a hospital, and you'll be okay. I swear." Jon was sure of that, at least, and was determined to do it. He could get David out of there, or else Jon would never forgive himself. 

"Oh...it _hurts."_ David whined. "Everything hurts so much, man. I can barely see straight." He looked down, shaking his head. "I just wanna go home, Jon. _Home."_

As he stared at Tico as he crouched beside the water and cupped water into his mouth, as Alec sat down and rubbed his feet, as Richie rested against a tree and clpxed his eyes, as Bryce lay, slowly dying, Jon nodded and tried not to let his own fear seep into David's. "I know, buddy. I know." 

There was another cut that Jon hadn't seen on David's stomach, but that one didn't seem to be infected, for which Jon was immensely glad. 

Without warning, there was a sudden hand on Jon's shoulder, and he flinched, looking up at Richie's smile, marred with a weak smile. "Hey." Richie said, his hand moving to Jon's back. "What's happenin'?" He asked. 

Jon smiled back. "You want the truth?" He replied. 

"Always." Richie always had that look on his face, like he meant whatever he was saying, even if he didn't. 

"I don't know." Jon sighed, and Richie nodded, as if he understood that, too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what I'm gonna do anymore.


	16. Chapter 16

**Tuesday 5:00 AM**

Alec knew that he'd been wrong to target Tico in his anger. With his thirst quenched and his irritation slowly melting away, Alec was able to look back and grimace at how he had acted. Tico hadn't deserved that, since he'd been the one person who had been keeping them going throughout the Hell that their present situation, but Alec hadn't been able to help himself. Too wrapped up in his anger, the idea of lashing out at somebody, _anybody,_ had been appealing, but Alec hadn't thought about the consequences of that decision, and now, guilt was like a heavy rock in his chest as he looked into the pale rush of water below. 

The sun was beginning to darken, not significantly, but noticeably. Alec sighed and squinted, trying to see any signs of movement, but he couldn't see any sign of fish or, well, just about anything. The water was sitting heavily in Alec's empty stomach, and he was beginning to feel sick, which was the last thing that anybody needed, not that they could do anything about it. 

Behind them was a plethora of bushes. Amidst the dull and bright greens were pinks and reds and oranges, and Alec felt his stomach rumble, even as he reminded himself that berries were probably the second most dangerous thing in the woods, aside from the bears. The berries were, after all, more than likely, venomous, and they didn't need to die from _fruit,_ of all things. 

"We should probably sleep here." Tico said, breaking the silence that'd fallen over them. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "There's water and it's safe, so it's better than nothing, right?" He tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, and Alec felt guilt stab at his heart. 

"I guess." Jon mumbled, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. 

Alec stood up, feeling his knees complain at the movement, rubbing at the small of his back. He was pretty sure that he'd knocked something loose during the crash, but he kept quiet because a simple pain wasn't important when compared to a concussed keyboardist and the driver, who was slowly bleeding out. "It sounds like a plan." Alec said, which was true, because it was the best and only plan that they had. He smiled at the rest of the guys, but they remained blank and dully unconvinced, staring back at him like faces from a painting. 

"Are we gonna start a fire?" Richie asked. 

It had been steadily cold over the day, but as the sky slowly began to darken, there was a chill in the air and Alec knew, in that unspoken way that everybody tended to know things, that they would freeze to death if they didn't have a fire, without doubt. However, a fire would attract animals, especially the ones that they'd been trying to avoid. 

"I don't think we have much of a choice." Tico replied. 

Jon sighed and stood up, his hands on his hips. He looked down at the ground contemplatively. "David. You wouldn't happen to have your glasses on you, would you?" He said, and, in response, David smiled weakly, his usually bright eyes shadowed and glassy. 

"Didn't you say that you knew how to make a fire?" Richie asked, staring at Jon as the younger man meandered around, kicking at rocks. 

"Well, yeah, but that was like fourteen years ago." Jon bent down and picked up a rock. "And I've been using the glasses trick every time that we needed a fire." 

"How many times has that happened?" Alec asked. 

"Twice." Jon picked up another rock and examined them. "I'm gonna go find kindling." He said. 

"Nuh-uh. Not alone, you won't. Richie, go with him, please." Tico quickly said, turning around from where he'd been examining something near the trees in the distance. He waved vaguely toward Richie and then turned back around. 

Richie grinned flirtatiously as he stood up. "Ooh, boy. Jonny and I are gonna have some alone time." He said, and Jon turned to give him a exhasperated look from over his shoulder. 

As soon as they disappeared, Tico turned away again, and started walking towards the river. "There probably isn't any fish, or even any eggs." He said to nobody in particular, although David's eyes were so closed, so Alec was his only real target for conversation. "They're probably all somewhere where its not so cold." He added. 

"I guess." Alec replied noncommittally. "When'd you become the expert on fish?" 

Tico shrugged. "Just a guess." He sat down, and closed his eyes, turning his face away, and Alec grimaced, looking down at his hands, feeling very uncomfortable but knowing that he needed to do something. 

"I'm sure _somebody_ has to have noticed the bus." Alec said. "And a lot more people have noticed that we aren't at the venue." He was confident in that, at least. He stood up and walked over to where Tico was sitting. "We'll get out of this, man." Alec forced determination into his voice, looking back into Tico's dark eyes and saying those words like he meant them. 

"Yeah, sure, but Bryce said it himself, we weren't on the road that we should've been." Tico replied. 

Alec really wished that they still had that map. "But we're somewhere in Canada, right?" He prompted. 

"I guess." Tico said, shrugging. 

"There's national parks all over Canada!" Alec tossed his hands in the air. "Who's to say that this isn't one of 'em?" He didn't mention the lack of signs or the lack of any other human beings besides from them and the crazy old man. 

"If that's what you wanna believe in to hang onto your sanity, then who am I to destroy that." Tico said. "But it's too...abandoned. Too lonely. We're all alone out here, 'Lec. There's nothing that anybody is gonna say to get me to think otherwise. And don't say nothing about that old man, because he's gone and dead and useless." Tico ran his hands through his hair, gazing out toward the other side of the river. 

"So, what are we gonna do?" Alec lowered his voice and crouched down. 

Tico made a face. "Try and get back to where we were before, I guess. And try to find the road from there." He replied. 

"And what if we can't find those places?" Alec asked. 

**Tuesday 5:10 PM**

Kindling, as it turned out, was pretty scarce near rivers, and Richie groaned when their search turned up just some sticks that wouldn't hold a fire to save their lives, which was exactly what it needed to do. "This is so stupid, babe." Richie said. "I can't believe any of this." He tucked the sticks against his arm, though, figuring that they were better than nothing. 

"Tell me about it." Jon replied, arms crossed. "Not even any brush! How the hell are we gonna make a fire without any brush? Could leaves help? I don't fucking know." He shook his head, looking silently furious. 

Richie shrugged. "I was talkin' more about the whole situation in general, but, yeah, that's pretty stupid, too." He said. 

"Are you okay, Rich?" Jon asked. 

"Well, I'd rather not be stuck in the woods, but yeah, I'm okay." Richie wasn't sure if he was okay, though, because he'd just watched a man be torn apart by a fucking bear and he couldn't get rid of the old man's screams. Sure, that old fuck may have deserved it, but it was an event that Richie had never been witness to before, and it was freaking him about. 

Unconvinced, Jon's sharp eyes drifted up. "Is that right?" He said mildly. 

"Yup." Richie nodded. "How about you?" He asked. 

"I'm fine." Jon answered, taking a deep breath. "Tired." He muttered, bending down and collecting a bunch of twigs. 

Richie walked over, dried leaves crunching underneath his shoes. "David will be fine." He said quietly, reaching out and lightly resting his head on Jon's back. "He's gonna outlive us all. You know that." Richie tried to keep the conviction in his voice, and Jon nodded. 

"He's not acting like _himself._ And yeah, he's been through Hell, but it just doesn't seem...oh, fuck." Jon rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What _happened,_ Rich?" 

"What do you mean?" Richie asked, even though he knew perfectly well. 

"One time when we were kids, some asshole beat Dave up and broke one of his ribs." Jon said sharply. "We were going through some back alleyway so we didn't have to walk the whole way home and some senior jumped from out of nowhere and got us good. Even while I was yelling at him and trying to drag him to a shop so we could get help, David was making jokes like the idiot he is." Jon shook his head ruefully. "What happened back there, Richie?" He asked. 

Richie hesitated. He didn't want to lie to Jon, but he also didn't want to recount everything that had happened and terrify Jon even further. "Some old guy kidnapped him or whatever." Richie finally said. "He...kept him captive. Gave him those cuts, traumatized him for life." Richie looked up toward the sky, at the clouds that were gathered closely and damn near blocking out the sun. 

Looking away, Jon was silent for a long minute, and then he straightened up. "Do you promise, Richie, that you think we're gonna get out of here?" He asked. 

"I swear to God." Richie replied. 

Jon smiled, but it was a mere shadow of his real one. He wrapped his free arm around Richie's torso, and Richie did the same, burying his face in Jon's hair, hearing the birds as they chirped and as, in the distance, the river ran. Richie believed that they would get out, but he didn't know if it would be freely or in a body bag. He cupped Jon's face in his hands and tilted the other man's head up until they were staring at each other. 

"I love you." Richie whispered. "I swear to God that we're gonna get out of here."

"I love you, too." Jon replied. 

**Tuesday 5:28 PM**

David didn't know what was happening. His arm hurt and so did his head. There was a terrible burning sensation in his neck. He felt like he was going to be sick and as he watched Jon sit in the distance and scrape two rocks together while, a few feet away, Tico drank from the stream, David wondered if he was going to die, if his fighting had been for nothing, if this was one of his last days alive. 

The world looked distant and fuzzy. David closed his eyes, and then opened them. He felt very cold and very hot at the same time. There was a hand on his face, and David flinched, startled. "I'm sorry." Tico said quietly, pressing his hand against David's forehead. "I didn't mean to scare you, buddy." Tico's face hovered in the distance, and he looked strange, worried. 

"Whe-" David's tongue felt heavy, and his mouth felt swollen. He paused and swallowed. "Where's Jon?" He asked. 

"He and Richie went to go find some kindling." Tico replied, smoothing David's hair back and away from his face. "They should be back soon." He moved his head and stared out into the distance. "And they're they come back now. Impeccable timing." Tico smiled. 

David took a deep breath, but it hurt. Everything hurt. David wondered why. "What time is it?" He asked. 

"Five-twenty-eight." Tico answered as he stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Okay." David replied. 

"I'll be back later, okay?" Tico said. "Try and get some rest." 

**Tuesday 5:35 PM**

"I'm fucking starving, man." Alec groaned, tossing his head back. 

"See?" Richie splayed his fingers. "I'm gonna be eating my arm soon." He looked at Jon, who was furiously and studiously scraping two rocks together with an air of determination about him. 

Jon huffed, blowing his hair away from his face. "Give me five more minutes." 

"Isn't that what you said five minutes ago?" Richie smiled. "We can share my arm."

With a exasperated grown, Tico felt like something was beginninhg to gnaw on his stomach, and he buried his face against his knees. He looked at Bryce, who was sleeping, his chest rising slowly but steadily. David was resting heavily against Tico, but he was awake and somewhat coherent, so Tico counted that as a win, and a good one, at least compared to how the rest of the day had went.

Sighing, Jon scraped the rocks together one last time before he dropped them and rubbed the marks on his hands. "It isn't dark yet, anyways." Jon mumbled. 

"Yeah." Alec nodded. "We still got awhile." He said. 

Thunder boomed, suddenly, loud enough that David recoiled and Alec had to smother a startled yell against the palm of his hand. He glanced up at the sky, which was becoming a dark, stony grey. "Maybe it's best that we don't light one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's getting hard again.


	17. Chapter 17

**Tuesday 5:40 PM**

"I can't believe that none of us have a lighter." Jon said, picking at the dried blood underneath his fingernails. "We all smoke, but none of us carry a fucking lighter." 

Richie shrugged. "Hey, in my defense, I've been trying to quit." He replied. 

"And I always lose mine." David mumbled. 

Looking irritated, Alec sat down beside Tico, his face stuck in a permanent frown that hadn't left his face in hours. "I _did_ have one." He said grumly. "But that asshole at the hotel took it from me." Alec sighed and hung his head, thinking about how the hotel seemed like an eternity ago. The soft bed and hot food and cold water felt like foreign things, like Alec had experienced them a lifetime ago. 

Food seemed like a distant idea, one that was preposterous and crazy. Alec was pleased that they had managed to find water, but they needed to start moving again soon, and they had nothing to hold the water in. His stomach growled and his insides seemed to pinch in hunger, and Alec hunched over, burying his face against his knees with a sigh. 

"I think I dropped mine while we were running." Tico said. "Which sucks, because I would kill for a cigarette right now." He rubbed at his goatee, and then he tangled his fingers together so he could twist his arms behind his head and stretch. His back ached and so did his shoulders, and the stretching did nothing for him. 

Jon groaned and tossed the rocks across the clearing. "This is useless!" He spat, watching as one of the rocks sailed past a tree and the other hit it before falling to the dirt with a harsh _thump_ noise. "We're gonna die." Jon tossed himself backwards and fell onto his back, arms splayed. 

"Quite the optimistic thinker aren't we, baby?" Richie said. 

The nickname slipped out without meaning, and Jon flinched. Richie realized what he'd just said, and he grimaced, turning to look at Tico, who was smiling thinly, and Alec, who was shaking in laughter. "Oh, my God, things are _craazy_ lately, huh?" Alec snorted, rubbing his face. "Jeez, Rich, I know that I told you that I knew, but I didn't think you'd drop the bomb." He said with a grin. 

Tico raised his eyebrows. "When'd you tell him, Al?" He asked. 

"When we were looking for David. We had to cross a ravine, Richie panicked and refused to do it, so I gave him an extra push." Alec smirked. "Literally." He added. 

"God, you're evil." Richie scoffed. 

Meanwhile, Jon looked scandalized. "Richie, why didn't you tell me?" He asked. 

Richie shrugged. "You would've panicked. Besides, what's the big deal, anyways? I don't think that now's the best time for secrets." He said. 

"S'not really a big deal, Jonny." Alec shrugged. 

"And, besides, out of all the people you should be nervous about, we're at the end of the list." Tico said. 

Looking rather nervous, Jon reluctantly nodded. "Oh, well. I guess you guys are right." He admitted, hunching his shouldsrs. 

"We've known since _fooreever,_ anyways." David said. 

"Gee. Great." Jon said sarcastically, standing back up. "Okay, does anybody have any glass on them?" He asked. 

"Why would we have glass?" Tico said, looking deeply confused. 

"Matches? Anybody?" Jon pat his own jacket and pants, but all he felt was his wallet, which wouldn't hold anything useful besides bank cards and twenty bucks.

Alec checked, but he didn't even have his wallet, which irked him much more than it should've. Tico checked, but he just had a piece of gum and a blank piece of paper. David did, too, but just his wallet remained. Richie sat up straight and began to search his pockets, his face marred with contemplation as he checked. 

The tension in the air was palpable as Richie searched, a task that seemed to take an eternity. Richie checked his back pockets and found a small, crushed box of matches. "Huh. Glad I checked." Richie said as he opened the box. "Two left." 

Suddenly, Richie paused. "Jon, where's that little flashlight that you had earlier? It wouldn't light a fire, but it would help us when it gets dark again." He asked. 

Jon frowned. "I don't know." He said. "I might've lost it..." He trailed off. 

Pulling out one of the matches, Richie held it out and Jon took it, tucking it inside of an inner pocket of his jacket. The sky was filled with clouds, anyways, and a fire would only be extinguished. But it would be a cold night, and Jon wondered if hypothermia was a possibility. Their jackets weren't thick, and their clothing would do little do protect them. 

**Tuesday 6:00 PM**

Thunder rumbled again, and then lightening sounded, a burst of bright light. 

They'd retreated underneath the trees, hoping that the leaves would protect them, if only somewhat. Tico was watching the growing darkness, weary of hearing the growls that he feared would come from the thick blackness, but knowing that, in the end, he couldn't do shit to protect himself or the others. 

"God. It's _cold."_ Jon hissed, curling into a small ball and blowing into his hands. 

"We, um, need to preserve our body heat." Alec said from his similar position, face pinched as he shivered uncontrollably. 

"How?" Richie asked, looking over curiously. 

Tico rolled his eyes. "Alec, I can't believe that you think we're gonna do what you're suggesting." He said. 

"What? Do you wanna freeze to death?" Alec said harshly, resting his hands on his knees. "It's too cold to just sit here and do _nothing,_ Teek." He widened his eyes purposefully, as if to further put emphasis on his words. 

"I...agree." Bryce said in a drunken tone. He wasn't shivering, and that made Tico feel even worse, bevause he was pretty sure that _not_ shivering was a pretty bad fucking sign. 

"Okay. What?" Richie repeated. 

Jon hunched even further. "Fucking cuddling." He muttered. 

"If that's how you wanna put it then, yes, we're gonna fucking cuddle." Tico said. 

"Oh, my God." David said faintly. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and them Alec chuckled. "No. Nuh-uh." He shook his head and scooted backwards, as if afraid that he would be dragged into a hug. "I ain't doing that. Just kill me already." Alec said firmly. 

"No can do, Amigo." Tico said comfortably. "We're all gonna survive this." 

Suddenly, Jon startled and sat up quickly. He looked up at the sky, and then placed one of his hands over his eye, looking back down. "It's raining." He said. 

It was then that Tico felt soft raindrops fall onto his face, and he groaned, cursing the world. "Alright. Huddle up, guys." He said, walking over to Bryce so he could drag the other man toward where the others were. Tico didn't care what Alec thought; they needed to survive one way or another. 

"Okay, fine." Alec said. "As long as we don't start eating each other." He walked over wearily and sat down next to David, who seemed a bit more alert, but was still a little groggy and didn't seem to understand what was happening until Alec sat down beside him. 

"Let's save that one." Tico said with a small smile. 

Richie stood up to help Tico with dragging Bryce over, and together, they formed into a small circle. It was raining faster now, heavier, and everybody was quickly getting wet, as the tree leaves did nothing to stop the steady flow. 

Despite his earlier reluctance, Alec didn't voice a single complaint as he became.e sandwiched in between David and Tico. He seemed to realize, if only somewhat, that it was the best decision, as uncomfortable and awkward as it was. 

Admittedly, Tico wasn't too happy with the situation, either, but he needed for everybody to stay alive, even if it meant abandoning their dignity. "It's not like anybody has to know, right?" He said. 

"Except us." Alec muttered.

"Do you think people are searching for us, yet?" David asked. 

"They have to be." Tico replied. "Even if they haven't put two and two together, it's pretty suspicious. Doc hasn't exactly been calling people at the venues now, has he?" Tico sighed at the mention of their one-time manager. "And the fire..." Tico trailed off and let his friends think about the implications. 

"Fuck. My feet hurt." Richie said, resting his head against the tree behind him. 

"Yeah. And that's our next problem." Jon said. "Blisters are much worse than some of you may think." He raised his eyebrows, as if to emphasize his statement, and it worked. 

Silence fell over the group, and it stayed for awhile, punctuated only by their hoarse breathing as lightening lit up the darkness and rain continued to fall heavily. They were all wet, and Tico couldn't help but think of hypothermia, but didn't that sort of shit only happen when it was snowing? Tico didn't know, and he also didn't feel like asking Jon and having to deal with the answer. 

"I was supposed to call my Dad today." David whispered. "Because my mom's birthday is coming up...and they both want me home." He tried to say it with forced nonchalance, but his voice cracked near the end. David sniffed and looked down, feeling the rain pound at his head. 

"Ah, don't think about that, 'kay? You're gonna go home." Alec said. "When's your mom's birthday?" He asked. 

"Um...in a week." David answered. 

Alec smiled. "We'll be home by then." He forced himself to sound calm, comforting, reassuring, and maybe, just maybe, David believed it. 

**Tuesday 6:40 PM**

"Maybe we should get some sleep. There's nothing that's going to be able to get done." Tico said, breaking the silence, and sounding hesitant to do so. "Two of us will stay up and keep watch at a time." He didn't dare want to think about what would happen if they all fell asleep, although Tico reasoned to himself that the bears and, if they lived in the woods along with them, wolves, were probably hiding out, trying to avoid the rain. 

"Yeah. Okay." Alec frowned in thought. "You and I, man?" He asked. 

"Sure." Tico agreed, although he sensed the real reason why Alec wanted to stay up with him. Tico didn't argue, didn't want to have that hanging over his head. "I'll wake you two up in two hours, okay? And we'll switch." Tico said, glancing at his watch. Tico didn't know if the watch would short out in the rain, and had it tucked inside of his jacket, where it was damp but mostly dry. 

Jon nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He said in agreement. "David, are you okay?" 

"Yeah." David replied, even though he didn't sound so sure of that answer. 

"Good night, guys. And good luck." Richie said as he shifted closer to Jon. 

In truth, Tico didn't know if either of those three went to sleep as planned, or how long it took them to go to sleep. He kept quiet, not wanting to draw them back to the land of the conscious, just rested his chin on his hand and watched as the rain fell steadily, masking the trees and concealing whatever lay inside. 

Tico didn't want to think about the probabilities of their survival, but he couldn't help it, not in the continued silence. He was sure that, if they could just get back to where they were before, that they could get to the road and begin hiking, or try to signal for help. But that proved more and more difficult and less and less possible with every passing second. 

Not to mention Bryce and David. Tico was pretty sure that David was in a good enough shape to make the hike, even if somebody had to help him. That wasn't the issue, really. It was the infection, and how long it'd take to ravage David's body. And Tico didn't even want to think about Bryce's chances for survival. 

Bryce was half-dead and slowly bleeding out by the minute. They didn't have an extra shirt, nor could they afford to lose a jacket, on him. Tico felt guilty but, at the same time, he knew that there was little that he or anybody else could do. 

In the darkness, Tico shut his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to just relax for the time being. They were soaked and hungry but things could be a lot worse, couldn't they? Tico smiled at the thought. 

"Hey, Teek... Did you hear that?" Alec whispered. 

Whatever thought of things getting worse were wiped out of Tico's head as he turned and stared at Alec's face, uncomfortably close in their tight position. "No."

Alec slowly exhaled and turned away, rubbing his hands on his jeans. "I'm sure it was nothing. Probably my imagination or something dumb like that." He said, but he didn't sound so sure of that. 

"What'd you hear?" Tico asked, dreading the answer. 

"Um..." Alec bit his lip. "Footsteps. Heavy footsteps, like it was something, I dunno, big." He replied. 

"Shit." Tico said, and his heart lurched in his chest, beating rapidly. 

"I'm sure it was nothing." Alec repeated, his attempts at reassurance futile and weak. "I'm tired, man. I hear all sorts of things when I'm tired. Don't worry about it." Alec continued, sounding like he was a crazy man, ranting to nobody. 

There was a low, steady growling noise. It pierced the temporary silence and seemed to seep into Tico's bones like ice, rendering him frozen. Alec's eyes widened to saucers, and they sat there, listening to the growl as it rose and fell from behind the trees, behind _them._

"That isn't a bear." Jon said. 

A small part of Tico nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Jon's voice, but he continued to sit there, frozen, feeling as Alec slowly turned and peered over the side of the tree, even though Tico was the one closest to the edge. Tico couldn't muster the courage to see what it was, damn his dignity down to Hell. 

"Then _what?"_ Richie hissed. 

"A Badger, maybe." Tico said, even though he was pretty sure Badgers didn't growl and, anyways, if what Alec said was true, then Badgers weren't big enough to have caused those footsteps. 

"No." Jon mumbled. "Wolf." 

Tico's blood ran cold. "It can't be." He said. 

"I can't see." Alec said as he sat back down. "It's too dark." He was shaking, and it wasn't from the cold. 

Another growl, and more footsteps. Leaves rustled beneath the sound of heavy rain. Out of the corner of his eye, Tico saw Jon place his hand over David's mouth. "If it is a wolf, it sounds like just one." Alec said, but he didn't sound very convinced of himself. 

"Still. A fucking wolf." Richie replied. 

Slowly, almost leisurely, a dark shape appeared just a few inches away from Tico, in a way that seemed too calm, too casual. Tico saw fur, lips peeled away from sharp teeth, dark eyes. He felt strangely like laughing and he felt Alec pull him further back. The wolf seemed huge, but that might have just been because Tico was sitting down and in a too vulnerable position. 

The wolf snarled. Its ears peeled back, and he lowered his head until it was squarely between its shoulders. Its dark eyes seemed to examine each and every shaky breath, each and every terrified gaze. "Jon. What do you kn - know about wolves?" Richie asked in a thin voice. 

"They usually aren't alone." Jon replied. "And this one is small...for a wolf." 

" _Small?"_ Richie whispered. "That fucking thing is huge." 

Tico couldn't help but agree, especially since the wolf was only a few inches away from him. Tico took a deep breath, but there seemed to be a heavy block on his chest, crushing his lungs. He wanted to ask what he was supposed to do, but the idea of talking felt dangerous, so he kept silent. 

**Tuesday 7:20 PM**

Jon could tell that it was slowly starting to get dark. He could also tell that they were in big trouble, because the wolf was just standing there, watching them with those black eyes that seemed to know and see everything. 

The tension was so thick that Jon could taste it. He could feel David's heart beating frantically against his arm. Richie had his hand pressed against Jon's shoulder. "Do you think it's gonna attack?" Richie whispered, the anxiety high and clear in his voice. 

"Not without other wolves." Jon replied. 

"Okay." Richie said. "So where the fuck are the other wolves?" 

Jon didn't know, and he really didn't wanna know. David was breathing harshly against Jon's hand, and they were all gonna die if the wolf was joined by the rest of its pack. Jon tried to reason with himself that it might've been a lone wolf, but he didn't know, and that scared him more than anything. 

The rain intensfiied. A burst of lightening came, and the wolf whined, slightly moving away, its snarl falling away. Jon frowned. "Don't scream." He said, and he removed his hand from David's mouth. David nodded slowly. Jon saw that Bryce was still sleeping...or maybe he was dead. 

Forcing those thoughts away from his head, Jon slowly got onto his hands and knees and began to crawl toward Tico. Richie reached over and grabbed Jon's arm in an iron tight grip. "What the fuck are you doing?" Richie demanded. 

"I'm gonna go ask Tico what he thinks we should do." Jon replied. 

"Uh, Jon, there's a fucking wolf right there." Richie motioned toward the animal, who was pawing at the ground, not looking Tico anymore, still whining softly. 

"Trust me, Rich. That thing is more scared of us than we are of it." Jon said in a calm, even tone, trying to keep his cool. 

Richie stared for a minute, his face pinched in exasperation. "Jon, I'm ninety-nine percent sure that I'm more scared of that wolf than it is of me." He finally said after a short, tense minute of silence. 

"Hey." Jon said. "Listen, I'm not gonna go and poke it in the eye and ask what its name is, okay? I'm just gonna go near Tico." 

"Which is right next to the wolf." Richie's grip tightened. 

"Somebody's gonna need to help him move Bryce if that wolf runs away to go and get its pack." Jon reached out and lightly rested his hand on the side of Richie's face. "Do you trust me?" He asked. 

"I trust you not to kill me. But I don't trust you not to kill yourself." Richie whispered harshly, and he pulled Jon toward him and into a brief kiss. "You're a fucking idiot, man." Richie said, resigned. 

Jon smiled. "We're switchin' roles now, huh?" He kissed Richie again and then pulled away. He felt like a wet dog already, and the crawling surely didn't help matters as he made his way toward Tico. The wolf wasn't really paying attention, though, and Jon didn't particularly feel threatened as he propped himself up onto his knees beside Tico and next to Bryce and Alec. 

Barely moving his eyes from the wolf, Tico raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?" 

"What do you wanna do?" Jon asked. "If this isn't a lone wolf, then this thing is gonna raise Hell with its pack, and we're dead meat." He said. 

"Literally." Alec muttered. "Unless we move, we're gonna die." 

Tico gave a miniscule nod. "But how?" He asked. 

"It isn't gonna attack until the rest of the pack gets here." Jon said.

"Unless it's a lone wolf." Richie pointed out from the back. 

The wolf whined and then, suddenly, tilted its head toward the moon and let out a low, winding howl. And then it looked at them once more, blank and unfeeling, before turning and trotting away, casual as could be. 

"Fuck. Oh fuck. Fuck me." Alec stood up on shaky legs. "Fuck. _Fuck!"_ He ran his hands through his hair, dark eyes wide in panic. 

Tico stood up. "Let's go." He said without wasting a single second. He bent down and hooked his hands underneath Bryce's arms. Bryce mumbled inaudibly. Jon grabbed his legs and winced as his shoulders whined at the motion. 

But there was no time to waste, and everybody knew that all too well. 

Without a word, Richie appeared, and he bent down to grab Bryce's other leg. "We can't outrun _wolves."_ Richie hissed as he did so. 

"No. But we need to leave, and at least try." Tico replied. "Alec, you go ahead and walk with David. You two can walk faster than we can." He said. 

Alec nodded, grabbing David by his good arm and helping him into a standing position. "Which way are we going?" He asked. 

"Ahead." Tico answered. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Tuesday 8:00 PM**

They had been walking for awhile. Tico's feet were aching, and his thighs were burning, not used to the amount of exercise that he was having to put them through. Drumming had allowed Tico to build up his arm muscles, but in doing that, he'd neglected actually _running_ just in case something like this happened. 

Although, to be fair, things like this weren't exactly things like people prepped for. 

It was raining fully now. The rain seemed to be as cold as ice, and hard as rock. A small part of Tico kept wanting to toss his hands up to protect his head, but he couldn't with Bryce. Tico huffed out a breath, and then grunted when Richie, without so much as a gasp of warning, suddenly stumbled and nearly caused them all to fall down, or, at the very least, drop Bryce. 

Thankfully, they all managed to keep on their feet, but Tico could tell that he wasn't the only one at his breaking point. Jon was panting uncomfortably, and they were all like a bunch of sodden, soaked dogs. Richie shook his hair out of his face. "Haven't we walked far enough?" He asked, but his voice was drowned out by the rain that was pounding down onto them. 

"I-" Tico took a deep breath. "I don't know." He admitted, because he wanted to stop, but he didn't want to let down his guard and then watch as his friends were torn apart by a pack of wolves. But Bryce was heavy, and they hadn't had much of a break aside from the time they'd spent sleeping. 

David mumbled something, but it was far too faint, too quiet, to be heard amongst the other noises. Tico looked up, but David and Alec were mere dark shapes in the darkness. "Wolves can smell blood, right?" Tico asked. 

"It lures them." Jon replied, tilting his head toward his shoulder and coughing hoarsely. He coughed again, and then sniffed. 

"Fuck." Richie said succinctly, shifting around. "We can't catch a fucking break, huh?" He scoffed lightly, shaking his head, sending droplets of water spraying around. Richie looked exhausted, they all did. So many things had happened at such a short span, and it was taking its toll. 

Suddenly, Bryce stiffened. His eyes popped them, and they were bloodshot. He looked like a demon. Tico nearly dropped him, but managed to capture his grip just in time. Bryce looked up at Tico for a minute, and then he slowly opened his mouth. He said something, low and guttural, and then his breathing sped up. 

"Set him down." Jon said. 

"What?" Richie turned and looked at Jon, his eyebrows furrowed. 

"Set him down." Jon repeated. 

Tico did as told, and Richie had to choice but to do the same. They slowly, carefully, set Bryce down, onto the cold, wet ground, with its harsh edged rocks and sticks. Jon, without a word, undid his jacket and slipped it off, getting down on his knees and reaching over. 

Carefully, Jon lifted Bryce's head and slipped his jacket, folded up, underneath his head with an almost sweet manner about him. Jon tucked his hair behind his ears and then leaned about Bryce, face pinched in worry and sadness. 

"Jon..." Richie mumbled. "Please don't tell me." He slowly shook his head. 

"What?" Tico said sharply, looking at Richie with furrowed eyebrows, and then down at Jon and Bryce. "What?" Tico repeated. 

Yet again, Bryce mumbled something, his head lolling to the side. His eyes were wide open, and he looked terrified. One of his hands suddenly lurched up, and grabbed Jon roughly by his shoulder. "Mom. My - mom..." Bryce said. "Mama?" 

"Yes." Jon said. "It's me, Bryce." He seemed to have taken to the role naturally, his eyes calm and voice steady. 

"Oh, God." Richie muttered, crossing his arms and looking away. 

It felt like the world was crashing down on Tico. His chest constricted as he stared down at the two men, wanting to do _something, anything,_ to help, but he felt frozen and useless. 

"I'm sorry." Bryce's face crumbled, but it was impossible to tell if he was crying or not, if it was just the rain. "I'm sorry, mama." 

"It's okay, honey." Jon raised one of his hands and held it above Bryce's face to keep the rain away, if only a little. "I forgive you." 

"No..." Bryce moaned. "I should've stayed...stayed with...you and Jenna..." 

"Oh, hon." Jon paused, biting his lip. "Jenna loves you. I love you. It's okay." 

"It's not..." Bryce suddenly stiffened again, and then he shivered harshly. "D'you promise, mama?" He asked. 

Jon nodded. "Of course, I promise." He replied. 

And Bryce smiled. The pain that had wreaked his face suddenly disappeared, and he seemed to forget where he was, who he was, and just focus on the man he thought was his mother. He slowly raised his hand, and his fingers skimmed Jon's hand. Jon obliged and lowered his hand so he could entangle his fingers within the other man's. 

It was an oddly chilling sight, and Tico felt like he was about to throw up, to scream, to cry, to fucking yell until he couldn't anymore. He was scared, sad, confused. He didn't know what to do, it was all happening too fast. 

The sound of Bryce's stuttered breathing fell away into silence. His smile remained. His eyes, frozen, stared up at Jon's face, which was relatively stoic and eerily calm. Jon took a deep breath, and then he pulled away from Bryce's grasp and pressed two of his fingers against Bryce's neck. 

But they all knew the answer before Jon pulled his fingers away, and he stood up, arms wrapped around his stomach. Jon walked away, silent, toward the trees, his boots crunching over thin twigs and over sopping leaves. He disappeared in the darkness, and Tico fell to his knees. 

Everything came rushing at Tico, a barrage of emotions. He was furious at himself, at Bryce, at the bear, at the whole fucking world. He was devastated, and didn't know how to process it. Tico felt helpless, and he knew that it was too late but he couldn't help it. 

"Teek. Hey." Alec whispered, and Tico jumped, startled. He looked up, and Alec stepped back. He had suddenly appeated beside Tico, without so much as a whisper of warning. He looked awkward, somewhat put off. "I'm sorry, man." 

Tico looked around. Richie and Jon were gone. David was sitting nearby. 

"It's not your fault." Tico forced himself to say, standing up on shaky legs. 

Wearily, Alec stared. "What are you gonna do?" He asked. 

"Bury him." Tico replied, as if that was the most natural thing, and, in his mind, it was. He needed to do what made sense, and, in that moment, burying Bryce made all the sense in the world. 

But, to Alec, it was suicide. "Have you lost your goddamn mind? How are we, four guys on the run from a pack of wolves, without shovels or a light or kuch of anything, dig a hole in the middle of a fucking rainstorm?" He gestured around them frantically. "That's so stupid that I can't even - fucking - fuck." Alec shook his head. "If you do it, Tico, I'm sorry, we're leaving you, man." Alec said. 

**Tuesday 8:35 PM**

Richie didn't know if he was supposed to have done something. He didn't know, and didn't really want to think about it, about how Bryce had stared up at Jon and then died, like nothing had mattered at all. The last moments were frozen in the depths of Richie's mind. He didn't want to remember, but he did, because Richie had never seen somebody die before, and God, it was fucking weird. 

The woods seemes to hold forbidden wonders, and the darkness only amplified every small sound. Richie heard something in the trees, soft and barely audible amongst the rain. He could hear each tentative breath. But Richie couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, hear Jon. 

And that terrified Richie as he continued to walk through the darkness. 

Richie wondered if he should've pulled Jon away. Bryce had been dying, yes. He had been hallucinating, and he shouldn't have been alone. But Richie wondered if he should've stepped in, done _something._ Jon may have stepped in by hos own volition, but maybe, Richie wondered, he felt obligated to because he didn't think anybody else would. 

Maybe Jon was right in thinking that. Richie didn't think he could've done that, and Tico wouldn't have, either. So Bryce would've died alone. 

"Jonny." Richie said, swallowing thickly, feeling a shiver crawl up his spine. 

Through a thick passing of trees, Richie stumbled and found himself staring at a soaked figure, sitting on a tree stump, alone. It was a sobering sight. Richie didn't know what to do. He felt strangely guilty. "Jonny." Richie repeated, as if it were the only thing that he could say. 

Jon didn't react. He wasn't shaking, despite being jacketless underneath the cold sky. He just looked frozen in time, like Richie was staring at a photograph. His fingers curled, and Richie stepped foward. Jon didn't move. "Hey." Richie whispered, and he got close enough to crouch down in front of Jon. "Hey, baby." 

There was nothing really that Richie could say, and maybe that was a good thing, because talking seemed like a forbidden fruit, tantalizing but so, so bad after somebody had plucked that fruit and taken the first bite. Richie hesitated, and then he raised his hand. 

Slowly, Richie pressed his hand against the side of Jon's face. Jon was looking over Richie's shoulder, staring at something that Richie couldn't see. He looked lost, hopeless, and Richie couldn't blame him. "Jonny. I'm here." Richie said softly.

"He was cold." Jon mumbled. "Like ice." 

"I know." Richie didn't know. 

Jon took a deep breath, and he coughed again. He looked at Richie. "I don't know who Jenna is." He said. 

"Yeah." Richie nodded. "I don't, either." He brushed Jon's hair away from his face.

"He's dead." Jon said, his voice mechanical, monotone. He didn't sound like _Jon._

"Yes. I'm sorry, baby." Richie didn't know what he was apologizing for. 

For a long minute, Jon stared at the invisible thing over Richie's shoulder. His eyes were dull, and he didn't seem to be truly there, not in the way that he usually was. Jon took a deep breath. "Okay." He said, but it didn't seem okay. 

Richie smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, baby. But..." He paused. "But I'm proud of you." 

Their eyes met, and Richie could've flinched from the look in Jon's eyes. He winced, and Richie wondered how fast things were falling, and if he could scramble to pull them up. But the answer seemed distant and Richie didn't know, and maybe didn't want to know. 

"Let's go." Jon suddenly said, standing up quickly. He knotted his fingers in his shirt and then looked down at Richie mournfully. 

Left with no option, Richie stood up, too. He sighed, and suddenly realized that the rain had stopped. Jon shivered, and Richie winced, wrapping one of his arms around Jon's back to pull him into a hug. Jon didn't protest, and he lifted his head to place it onto Richie's shoulder as they stood there, alone, in the cold woods, where nobody would find them. 

Richie couldn't help but wonder, if they were struck dead where they stood, hoe long it'd take to find them. He suddenly found the idea appealing and then shoved it away, back into the dark corners of his mind. "We'll be okay." Richie whispered into Jon's ear. "I swear." Richie tried to keep as much conviction and determination into the whisper as he could. 

But they just sounded like empty promises that he'd never get to keep. 

**Tuesday 8:50 PM**

Alec really fucking hated his life. 

"Listen, Ti- _Tico,_ I need you to stop and think for a minute." Alec said in the calmest voice he could muster under the circumstances that he'd been put under without much warning or, hell, even experience. "David is hurt, and we don't know where Rich and Jon are, and a pack of actual fucking wolves are nearby. Okay, I know that you're upset right now, and Bryce deserves a burial or _something_ but we _can't."_ Alec ran his hands through his hair, frustrated as Tico didn't seem to be listening to his plea. 

Rather, Tico was digging, like a savage, with his fingers. Or, perhaps, just like a child. "People have dug for millions of years without shovels." He said. 

"Yeah, a few inches, dumbass." Alec snapped. "Not enough to hide a dead body." 

"Who says we're hiding him?" Tico said mildly, his thick eyebrows raising. 

Alec stared for a minute. "I thought that you were gonna bury him so none of the animals, which, if you haven't noticed, there's a lot around here, tried to eat him." 

"No." Tico paused. "Yes. Now leave me alone." He dug, like it was the only thing that was giving him purpose, which could've been true. 

But, still, Alec groaned and felt inclined to bash either his or Tico's head into a tree in a desperate attempt to either knock some sense into the drummer, or so he didn't have to listen to this shit. "Do you remember that big-ass wolf, Teek? Do you remember, yesterday, when I told you that I had to carry David out of a burning building? Do you remember anything right now?" 

"Fuck off." Tico said. 

Alec tossed his hands in the air. "Great. Now we're _really_ getting to the meat of the story." He shook his head and turned around, away from Tico, his shoes slipping and sliding into the mud, which would be easy to dig in, for now, anyways, until he got to the dirt again. 

Time was slipping past their fingers, and Alec was scared of that. One, possibly two, people in the group were having mental breakdowns, and Alec was scared of that, too. He didn't know what to do or say, just shivered in the cold air and listened for any strange noises as he crouched down. 

Bryce was dead, laying on the ground just a few feet away. Alec couldn't look at him, so he didn't. He avoided Bryce like he was the plague, because he was dead, and because Alec didn't want to deal with dead people at that moment and never did. He didn't want to deal with anybody, actually, but they'd long sailed past that bridge and probably wouldn't return. 

But, for now, Alec settled with dealing with somebody who would, at the very least, try to listen to him. 

"Hey, buddy. How are you?" Alec asked, crouched down in the mud, probably looking like a mess, his hair wet and sticking to his forehead. 

"Sick." David muttered. 

"Ah." Alec nodded and pretended to understand. "We'll leave soon, don't you worry. It'll feel like no time." He tried to smile, but it fell flat, and David slowly opened his eyes. 

"What's wrong?" David asked. 

For a moment, Alec hesitated. He knew that David would figure it out eventually, or be told by someone else, but he loathed to add more stress to David's already precarious situation. "Um..." Alec bit his lip. "Well, Bryce is...he's..." Alec, blunt ad he usually was, couldn't get the words out. 

"He's dead, David." Tico said, his voice dull and lifeless. "Fucking bled out." 

Alec cringed, and one of his hands tightened into a fist. "Asshole." He mumbled, pressing his hand against his knuckles to muffle the noise. 

Pale and with wide eyes, David couldn't seem to raise his head from where it was resting against a tree, but he raised one of his hands and clumsily patted Alec's shoulder in a weak attempt at comfort. "I'm sorry." David said. 

' _Leave it to David to try and make someone feel better.'_ Alec thought. "It's okay." He replied, taking David's hand and squeezing it before placing it back onto David's knee. "Some things are bound to happen, right?" Alec sighed. 

And them that made Alec feel like a terrible human, but he couldn't fall apart when everybody else was. That was just in poor form. 

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" David said. 

"What? No." Alec's heart lurched against his chest. "You're gonna be A-OK, buddy."

David moaned and closed his eyes, pressing his face against the tree. "I'm gonna die." He repeated. 

"No, stop it." Alec grabbed David's chin and forced the younger man to look at him. "I promise, David, that you aren't going to die. I won't allow it, okay?" 

"If you could control it, then wouldn't you have not let Bryce die?" David said. 

Alec paused, as suddenly as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on top of him without warning. He paused, feeling as if time had stilled, and he could've screamed. Alec fist tightened again. David flinched. "I'm sorry." David said. 

"No, I'm sorry." Alec forced himself to calm down. "No, don't act like that. You didn't say anything wrong, okay?" Alec took a deep breath, but there was a heavy weight on his chest. "We'll get out of here. And you'll be alive when we do." 

But nobody knew that, did they? David was slowly dying, and Alec was helpless as he pressed the back of his hand against David's cheek and felt how _hot_ the other man was. David felt like a sauna, but he was shivering, and the cut on his neck was pulsing red. None of them knew how to treat infection, and, because of that, David probably wouldn't last five days. 

Hell, he probably wouldn't last three. 

"Give me a minute, okay? I'll be right back." Alec stood up, and he turned back around, walking over to where Tico was, still digging. Alec wondered where Jon and Richie were and prayed that they'd come back. 

Alec knew that he couldn't handle it alone. He wasn't strong enough. "Tico." He said, calm and low and steady. "Tico." Alec repeated, and he had to take another deep breath. "David is dying. He won't make another two days at this rate. For all we know, he won't last the night. Do you want him to die, too?" 

"Shut up." Tico growled. 

"No, because Bryce doesn't matter anymore, okay?" Alec yelped when, without warning, Tico stood up and shoved him backwards. Stumbling, Alec tripped over a rock and fell onto his ass, startled and angry, staring up at Tico with rattled eyes. Alec grit his teeth hard enough that his jaw ached, and grabbed a handful of mud, flinging it at Tico's face. 

Tico grunted, wiping the mud off of his face, using the sleeve of his jacket to clean the remnants off of his face. "We need to - we need to - " Tico looked over at Bryce, still in the same position, left amongst the trees. " _Alec."_ Tico said, like a child who was begging their parent, but it wouldn't work. 

Still on the ground, Alec found himself strangely calm. "Bryce is dead. I know that it hurts you...trust me, it huts me, too. But he's dead, okay? And the _living_ matters, now. He wouldn't want you to stress over what'll happen to his body. He'd want you, _us,_ to get the fuck out." He said. 

"But what about the animals?" Tico asked. "They'll fucking rip him apart and, sure, okay, it's stupid, but you gotta listen to me." He clasped his hands together, as if he was about to either beg or pray. 

"I am, and I know where you're coming from, but we don't have enough time for this." Alec stood up, wiping cold mud off of his pants. "Listen, I'm sorry that I Saud that I would leave you, but you can't jeopardize _us,_ man. And you're gonna get yourself killed if you stay here." Alec hesitated. "Please, Teek. If not for me or you or Jon or Richie, then David. He's not going to last long enough for this, man." 

The leaves rustled, and Alec and Tico turned to watch as Richie emerged from the foliage, followed by Jon. They were not dead or hurt, as Alec had feared, but they didn't look...right, either. Not that Alec could blame either of them. 

"Sorry about that." Richie said, shuffling around awkwardly. He was staring straight into Alec's eyes, as if terrified to see Bryce lying there, like he'd never been alive at all. 

However, Jon walked back toward Bryce. He crouched down beside the body and closed Bryce's eyes gently, almost carefully. Jon paused, and then looked up. "We gotta do something with the body." He said. "It'll attract animals." 

Alec nodded, pretending not to notice the fact that Jon's hands were shaking. "I know. But what? Tico the fucking Idiot over here was trying to bury him." Alec gestured toward the drummer. 

"No..." Jon went to touch his face, but stopped, and rubbed his hands on his pants. "Cover him with something, I guess. Rocks." Jon stood up again, and then shivered harshly, hunching up his shoulders so the effect wouldn't be so obvious. 

"Oh, get your jacket, Jon, please." Richie said. 

"No." Jon gave Richie a look, and then walked away toward the trees again, but he paused near the line and began to inspect the ground, looking for rocks big enough to cover Bryce. 

Richie groaned, walking over, and then he paused. He stared at the body, and then slowly turned around to look at Alec. "When does Rigor Mortis set in, again?" He asked in a faint voice. 

"A few hours." Alec replied. "I think. I don't know. Why would I know?" 

"I don't know." Richie looked back at the body, and then grimaced and turned away. "Fuck. I can't go - he's dead. Fuck." Richie shook his head and stood there, hands on his hips, looking physically pained. 

"A few more of these should be good enough." Jon said, appearing suddenly with two large rocks cradled in his arms, and one more on the ground, which he was kicking to move.

"I'll look." Tico said. 

Alec wondered if he could go near the body, but then decided that he couldn't. He couldn't look at a man he'd once known, and see him dead. Alec had been at his uncle's funeral, had seen him all shriveled up like an old prune, had touched his hands and felt how cold they were. Alec had been a teenager, young and naive and stupid, but that memory had always stuck with him. "I'll go sit with David." It felt like the only option. 

"Okay." Richie nodded. 

**Tuesday 9:26 PM**

David didn't know what to feel. 

Alone, scared, sad, curious in a distant sort of way. All David knew was that, suddenly, Bryce was dead, and he was alone, and there was a pain in his chest that David attributed to grief, and pain, and loneliness. He didn't know where the other guys had went, and wanted to know, but he couldn't open his mouth without feeling like he was going to be sick again, so David just sat there. 

There was a bad feeling in David's chest. He felt anxious, and there was a strange taste in his mouth. David frowned. The sick feeling intensified. David closed his eyes and tried to breath through his nose, calmly and slowly, but then his arm jerked suddenly, like when he was falling asleep, sometimes, and he jerked awake, but very different in a way that he couldn't describe. 

Opening his eyes again, David noticed that things were blurry, but they'd been like that earlier, and he tried to reassure himself that it was nothing, but then a sharp stab of pain hit his abdomen and David gasped. ' _Call for somebody!'_ The voice was back, his father's sharp, firm tone, and David wanted to, but he couldn't get any words out. David felt his leg jerk, and he let out a terrified sob. 

Suddenly, things began to spin, and before David could call for somebody, anybody, at this point, everything went dark. 

**Tueday 9:30 PM**

Alec didn't want to think anymore, he just wanted to lay down on the muddy ground, and ignore all the questions, and fall asleep. He didn't want to face the dreadful reality, the dead man, the distance and the worry and the fear and the anger and the reality that they, like Bryce, might not survive. 

It was harsh to think of such things, but Alec knew that they couldn't blindly hope without a reason to do so. He sighed, and wondered why it felt like an eternity had passed when such little time had went by. Two days went by slowly, almost painfully, back in his old life. But now Alec was stuck in the woods, and everything was so slow. 

The darkness was even worse than it had been earlier. Alec saw something shaking jerkily on the ground, but it didn't hit him immediately what was happening, and he squinted. The darkness pushed against him. Alec looked at the spot where David had been sitting, but there was nobody there. 

"Fuck." Alec said sharply, the realization dropping atop of him like a brick on a cartoon character. He was over there in less than a split second, his heart pounding against his chest painfully. "Shit. _Shitshitshit."_ Alec fell to his knees beside David, his hands hovering hesitantly in the air. 

Alec tried to remember what he had been taught about seizures. He remembered being friends with a girl in his third grade class who had Epilepsy, and his and her parents had gotten together, had agree to teach Alec what to do in an emergency, but he couldn't remember. Alec hit his head, as if that would make his brain stop blanking out and help him remember. 

But panic was making Alec's mind race. He tried to catch onto his thoughts, helpless as David seemed to seize and shake like some character in a movie, except it was real and Alec couldn't let him die. Alec groaned and began to move everything away from David to the best of his ability. He pushed away twigs and leaves, and then took off his jacket, just like Jon had done. Alec pushed that thought away, and grabbed David's by the back of his head. 

They was the only real thing that Alec could remember to do. He prayed that he wasn't forgetting anything as he backed away so that neither of them would get hurt, pressing his back against the tree, feeling strangely scared. 

Suddenly, as if the seizure had never happened at all, David stilled. His eyes were shut, and his head lolled against his shoulder. Alec crawled foward on his hands and knees, wondering if it wad safe to call for the other guys, or if he should stay quiet. The wolves, after all, were still a clear and present danger, and just because they hadn't reared their heads didn't mean that they were out of the woods yet

Blue-green eyes fluttered open, and David winced. "What..." He went to say, but he trailed off, and let the rest of his unfinished sentence linger in the air, blinking and dazed, looking somewhat confused. 

Alec put on his most convincing smile. "It's okay. You're okay. Just stay still, okay?" He rested his hand on David's chest, and felt it pound rapidly against David's ribcage. Alec took a deep breath, and then exhaled. 

Unless somebody came looking for them, Alec knew that they were alone, and that it wasn't a good thing. David shouldn't have been left alone in the first place, but it was too late to remedy that mistake. "Richie!" Alec called out, hating that he was even having to yell in the first place. 

After a minute or two, Alec cursed. "Shit." He muttered. "My fucking luck." 

Of course, of all the times, Richie was doing something and was far enough away that he couldn't hear Alec, and apparently, so was everybody else. 

"What?" David asked. 

"Nothing. Okay. C'mere." Alec managed to wriggle one of his arms underneath the other man's back. He knew that he probably shouldn't move David so soon, but he had little options. Alec wasn't about to just leave him. David went without complaint, although he did hiss in pain when Alec jostled his bad arm. "I'm sorry, man." Alec said, pulling David up into a sitting position. 

David shut his eyes tightly. "My head hurts." He mumbled. 

"I know." Alec crouched beside David. "You had a seizure, buddy." 

"Hm?" David hummed. 

"You had a seizure." Alec repeated. 

"Oh." David opened his eyes, blinking groggily. "Sorry." 

"What are you sorry for?" Alec asked. 

David didn't answer, nor did he say anything as Alec wrapped his arms around his chest and dragged him toward a tree, him against it. He looked exhausted, which Alec couldn't blame him for, but it didn't help Alec's terrible worry about him. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Tuesday 10:00 PM**

If it'd been dark earlier, then it was definitely dark as Alec debated his choices, squinting as even the stars disappeared amongst the tangled leaves and outstretched tree limbs. He didn't know if the wolves were nearby, if they were prowling, waiting to close in for the kill, and, to tell the truth, Alec really didn't want to think about the eyes that could be staring at them from in between the tall, dark trees, but he had to. 

Alec sighed, burying his face in his hands, hating that he, of all people, was in charge. Alec dragged his hands through his hair, and he looked down at David, whose life depended on whatever Alec did next, a precarious choice. "Do you think you could walk?" Alec asked, even though he already knew the answer. 

Slowly, David shook his head. "Just go." He muttered. "I'm dead meat, anyways." 

"Oh, stop that. We're gonna get you out of here." Alec just didn't know _how_ yet, and that was fucking terrifying. He exhaled heavily. " _Rich-ie!"_ He said, sharply and loudly, like a bark. Alec pressed his hands against his hips and waited patiently. 

The darkness seemed to close in on them, and Alec began to feel suffocated, like it was hard to breath. He waited patiently, and felt relief push away some of the darkness when he heard footsteps, and a shadow appeared in the distance. A familiar shape, dark hair and a graphic t-shirt that looked like Heaven to Alec's tired eyes. He raised his hand, and Richie began to walk toward them. 

"We were so wondering where you two had went." Richie said when he was close enough, his hands perched on his hips. He looked exhausted, and like he'd been crying, although Alec couldn't be sure. Richie frowned intensely. "What's wrong?" 

"David just had a seizure." Alec answered, and the mere words made him feel cold as ice. "A bad one." And Alec didn't even know why. 

"What?" Richie said sharply, his eyebrows raising. 

"Yeah. C'mon, let's get him back to Jon and Tico." Alec said, because that felt right, and it made sense. Jon possessed the most medical knowledge, and Tico was, well, _had been_ the most level-headed member of the group, up until Bryce had died. 

Alec winced. He didn't want to think about _that_ chaos. 

"Yeah. Okay." Richie didn't bother asking anymore questions, just finished walking toward them. He probably didn't want to think about it, either. 

"How's Jon?" Alec asked. 

A grimace passed over Richie's expressive face. "He's...closed himself off." He replied slowly. "I guess, that it's gonna take some time to get him to come back to me again." Richie shook his head, looking pained. 

"Jon'll be fine." Alec said, even though he really didn't believe so. He didn't think that any of them would be okay, really. 

With a shrug, Richie crouched down in front of David. "Hey. I bet I'm the last person you wanna see, huh?" He smirked. 

David looked at him with glassy eyes. "Hi." He said simply. 

"You can't walk?" Richie said, obviously concerned. 

"Too tired." David mumbled. 

Richie looked at Alec over his shoulder. "Alright, Al and I are gonna help you, buddy." Richie said, standing back up and brushing dirt off the knees of his jeans. 

"Okay." David said, seemingly having given up, and just going through the motions, accepting and agreeing to whatever was happening. 

And Alec didn't like that in the slightest, but he didn't say anything as he walked over and bent down, wrapping his arm under David's own arm and around his back. David was obviously leaning his whole weight onto whoever was willing to take it, and Alec felt his shoulder begin to ache barely five seconds later. 

Richie gently grabbed David by his other arm, careful not to jostle the injured limb, but needing something to hold onto. David whimpered, but didn't say anything, as if he didn't have the right amount of energy for that kind of work. "I want to go _home."_ He whined. 

"I know." Alec whispered, adjusting his grip. "I know, Dave." He didn't. 

**Tuesday 10:12 PM**

Tico couldn't help the guilt that was coursing through his body. He couldn't help the anger, the sadness, the utter misery, as he sat there, numb but feeling so, so much. Tico had been hopeful that they would all survive the situation, that they'd get out in one whole piece, but then Doc had happened, and now, Bryce. 

"God. I'm sorry." Tico mumbled, rubbing the side of his face against the palm of his hand. The bristles of his beard rubbed against his skin, and it hurt. "You don't know how much I wish that I could've _done_ something, man." Tico took a Dee breath, and then he looked down at Bryce. 

In truth, Tico had never seen a dead body before, and he was interestingly repulsed by the sight. Bryce was pallid, his eyes closed, still smiling, like he was having a good dream. Tico shut his eyes. ' _He's never gonna dream again, drive again, laugh again.'_ He thought. 

Bryce had stopped bleeding, but he was drenched from the rain, which had stopped, but it's effects hadn't yet cleared. Tico knew that he was being ridiculous, that Bryce was dead, that nothing could be done, but he couldn't help the feeling of having not done anything to save Bryce's life. 

Forcing himself to move, Tico slowly reached out. He pressed his hand against the other man's skull and lifted it, and Bryce somehow felt heavier than he had previously. Tico grabbed Jon's jacket, and then lowered Bryce's head back down onto the wet soil. 

"I'm sorry, man." Tico whispered into the empty air. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. I'm sorry that everything happened, but I can't - we can't - it's too late to do anything now. I gotta help my friends. Gotta help David. And it's too late to save you. So I'm gonna go now." Tico couldn't move. 

Tico felt frozen, rooted to his spot on the ground. He kept telling himself to move but he couldn't. "God. This is your fault, asshole." He snarled. "If you'd just kept to the right road, we would all be alive." Tico shook his head firmly. 

"There's no use for that now, I guess." Tico sighed. 

Because Bryce was dead, and there was nothing more that could be done. There was no use playing blame games with dead men, and David was slowly dying, and Tico needed to take a deep breath and push aside his own guilt and anger to save his friends. 

Tico stood up, and he grabbed Bryce from underneath his arms. Bryce was mere dead weight as Tico dragged him away from the main walkway and toward the trees, hopefully so that the animals wouldn't disturb him. Tico walked back, and grabbed two rocks. 

It was the most improper burial, and Tico hated it, but he didn't have much of a choice as he slowly stacked rocks upon Bryce's dead body. It wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing. Hopefully, none of the wolves would be able to move the rocks, but Tico wasn't so sure about the bears. 

"Where did you go?" Jon said sharply, and Tico turned around just in time to watch and Richie and Alec emerged from the woods with David between them. 

David was stumbling, and looked as if he would've been on the ground by now, if not for Alec, whose arm was wrapped around his torso. The sight made Tico's heart ache, and his determination to get moving again grew. 

"Sorry." Richie said. "I didn't mean to be gone for so long...David had a seizure." 

"Shit." Jon muttered, shivering again, his gaze drifted briefly. He licked his lips and then walked toward them, meeting the other three halfway. 

Alec set David down on the ground, against a tree, and then stepped away, arms crossed over his chest. Tico wanted to apologize for how he'd acted, but knew that there were far more important tasks at hand, and just stood beside Jon as he crouched down beside Richie. 

"Please tell me you know something about seizures." Richie said. 

"The Eagle scouts don't teach about seizures." Jon replied worriedly, brushing his fringe from his eyes. "David? How are you?" He asked. 

"Tired." David answered. 

"Yeah, that's per usual, right?" Alec spoke up. 

Jon nodded. "Um...he doesn't have a history of seizures, so..fevers cause seizures, and so do concussions." He said. 

"What's that mean, then?" Tico asked. 

"He's either got a bad fever, a bad concussion, or something else." Jon said slowly, reaching out to press the back of his hand against David's forehead. "I'm leaning toward fever." He added a minute later. 

"So, he's sick, then." Richie said to nobody in particular. 

"Yeah." Jon nodded, and he exhaled. "I don't know shit about seizures." 

David winced and raised one of his hands, fingers curled into claws, and began to scratch at the cut on his neck. Jon grabbed his hand and pulled it away, but that just seemed to make things worse. "God, _it hurts,_ Jon." David tried to pull his hand away, but he was too weak for even Jon, and that appeared to frustrate him. 

"Let me go...what's it even matter?" David said. "I'm gonna die anyways." 

"No, you're not. I swear to God." Jon replied. "You're gonna live, I swear. But you can't act like this, okay? Let's just..." Jon paused abruptly, and he gestured vaguely in the air. "You're gonna be fine, okay? You're gonna fuckin' outlive us all." 

"Nooo..." David tried to pull his hand away one last time, but recognized that there was no use, and then he let out a sob and shook his head. "I don't wanna be here anymore..I wanna go _home!"_ He began to cry in earnest, desperate and hurt and scared, and nobody could comfort him because they wanted to go home, too. 

And going home seemed like a further possibility with each passing minute. 

**Tuesday 10:45 PM**

It began to rain again. 

David had fallen into a fevered stupor, and Richie was deemed to sit next to him and for neither of them to move a muscle. Jon had reluctantly agreed to wear his jacket again, if only to protect himself, somewhat, from the pouring liquid, and they had resumed the task of covering Bryce's body. 

The air was grim and full of tension. They were working quietly and steadily, unwilling to say anything about the dead man, or the multitude of dark feelings brewing in their minds. 

The last two days felt like an eternity, but yet, they all knew that it wouldn't end just yet. Jon knew that as he brought one last rock over and sat down heavily on the ground, breathing harshly. He felt exhausted, and so cold, remembering the look in Bryce's dark eyes as they looked at each other, and Bryce had thought with such conviction that Jon was his mother. 

Standing up on shaky legs, Jon walked over to where Tico and Bryce were. He was acting on autopilot, and Jon crouched down. He felt strangely robotic as he reached into Bryce's jeans pocket, and felt for the wallet that he knew would be there, waiting. 

Tico watched, not saying so much as a single word. 

"His name was Bruce Vincent Harlen. He was forty years old." Jon said quietly. 

"Shit." Tico couldn't help but think about how he was only a few years away from forty, that Alec was even closer. He had to look away, toward the dark trees. 

"Too young." Richie mumbled, and they all couldn't help but agree. 

Jon shook his head and tucked the wallet back in Bryce's pocket, wiping his hands on his jeans before walking away again. Richie grabbed his arm, and Jon looked at him sadly. Richie sighed and pulled Jon into his arms, resting his chin atop of Jon's head. 

Resuming his task, Tico placed the last rock atop of Bryce's body, careful not to look at it too hard, because it just made him feel so much worse. He buried his face in his hands, and then looked back up, not knowing what to do, not at all. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Tuesday 11:08 PM**

"Dude, we need to get moving." Alec still wasn't in a good mood, which nobody could blame him for, but the irritation stung, and Jon frowned as they stood several feet away from Tico, like two soldiers, ramrod straight and waiting for a response. Except they weren't soldiers, and Alec seemed close to losing his temper again. "It's raining, and this isn't a very good spot, now, is it?" 

Tico didn't appear to have heard Alec, or the rain that was slowly pouring down onto his head. He just sat there, looking down at their pathetic attempt at a grave, silent and immovable. Tico seemed to be in his own world of thoughts, and, if anybody attempted to snap him out of it, Lord knew what he would do. Slowly, as they'd been moving the rocks, Tico had snapped out of his, but now, he'd fallen back in, and didn't seem liable to crawl back out. 

"If he doesn't get a hold of himself, I'm leaving without him." Alec said sharply, turning around and walking away as quickly as he could so he didn't walk over there and attempt to kill Tico out of sheer annoyance. Alec didn't have time for this, and, truth be told, neither did David. 

"Hey, wait." Jon hurried after him. "Okay, none of us are leaving without all five of us together. But...I know why you want to move ahead, and I would too, if I was in your position." He said earnestly. 

Alec half-turned toward Jon as they walked. "He's being a total asshole!" Alec said, gesturing toward Tico vaguely. "And David doesn't have weeks left in him, he doesn't even have days left! Bryce was, is, I dunno....I'm just as sad as anybody else that he's died, and it's fucking irritating that he doesn't understand that." Alec continued, seemingly winding himself up. "But he doesn't matter anymore! David is more important than a dead man." Alec shook his head furiously, making droplets of water spray Jon, who backed away. 

"Sorry." Alec said before he continued walking away back toward where, through a mass of trees, Richie sat, head resting against one of his hands. David hadn't moved an inch, and his eyes were closed, but his chest was rising and falling, and he shifted uncomfortably when Alec stepped on a twig and it snapped. 

Watching, Jon wondered if they actually were gonna make it intact. David couldn't run if he needed to, could barely walk, was running a high fever with an arm that was probably paining him more than it was worth. Jon wondered if, one of these days, Alec would snap and do something that he'd regret, not out of malice, but out of desperation. He knew that Alec would do anything to hurt somebody else, but he was a one-track man, and it was clear what and who his priorities were, for which Jon found himself grateful. 

If Tico continued down his path, then Jon couldn't bring himself to leave the drummer alone, nor could he make Richie stay behind. Jon knew that it wouldn't work, that they all needed to stay together, but he didn't know _how,_ and that bothered him. Jon needed to know everything - he needed to know how a guitar worked, how each and every show was going to go, how somebody could live all their life on stage and come home to a family. He didn't like being spontaneous, and loathed the mere idea. 

But they were in the woods, with no schedules and no real idea about where they were, and it was driving Jon up a wall. He _needed_ to know, but he couldn't know, and that's where half of their problems were coming in. He had to know where they were, what animals were there, where they had to go. Jon curled his hands into fists, fingers digging into the soft flesh of his hands, and then he bashed them against the tree. 

The tree bark bit into his skin, and Jon closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the tree, exhausted and scared and hungry and hurting. Jon hated not knowing, but, most of all, he hated it when other people were just as clueless as he was. Jon shivered, and then opened his eyes, looking down at the muddy dirt underneath his boots, at the rain that was trailing down his skin. 

Jon inhaled, exhaled, and then pulled away from the tree, wiping his hands on his pants and looking out into the cold distance. He felt very alone, even though he wasn't alone, far from it. Jon forced himself to walk back over to where Alec had went, deciding that he was better off around them than he was Tico. 

"So...what are we gonna do?" Richie asked. "And how are we gonna do it?" He added with a tentative look around him. 

"Dunno." Alec muttered with a shrug. He was looking at David. "But we need to do it quick." He said, looking at Jon, as if in agreement, and Jon nodded. 

Thankfully, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, but it was cold, too cold. Their jackets did little to help ward off the chill, and it was hard to stop shivering, but Alec tried to force himself to stay still, because he was getting a little dizzy, which, combined with his anger, was making him feel sick. Alec leaned foward. "I'm gonna give Tico a few more minutes, but we don't know where the wolves are, and we don't know where the bears are." He said. 

"Yeah." Richie nodded. "He's taking this really fucking hard." He said. 

"You know how Tico is. He takes things hard." Jon replied. 

"A bit too hard, if you ask me." Alec picked at his fingernails, and then sighed, looking back up. "There's no time to mourn...they barely knew each other!" 

Jon bit his lip, debating about whether or not he should say anything, or, perhaps, nothing at all. "Do you guys think that Doc, well, is dead?" He asked. 

"Of course." Alec gave him a strange look, as if confused about why he would ask such a thing. "The bear ran in his direction, we heard him scream. He might not be dead, but there's a pretty good chance." Alec paused. "Fucking asshole didn't deserve that, though." He added in a quiet voice. 

"No." Richie agreed. "Maybe he's on the road, though." 

"Oh, fuck, let's not get our hopes up." Alec rubbed the side of his head. 

"Wait, just listen." Richie hurried to say. "What if he isn't dead, and he's on the main road, getting help?" He was obviously trying to get some confidence and courage back, but the atmosphere was too dark. After Bryce had died, the idea of actually surviving seemed distant, incredulous. 

Jon looked away, unsure about what he was supposed to say. He heard David mumble something, and Jon sharply turned his head. "What?" He said, even though, a minute later, filled with silence, Jon was sure that David had fallen asleep, and, deep in dreams, he'd said something and gone back to sleep, but then David took a deep breath, and he opened his eyes. 

"National Park." David said, looking as if each word was a chore. He went to close his eyes again, but his head bobbed, and they opened back up. 

"What do you mean?" Alec asked. 

David groaned. "National...Park." He repeated. 

After staring at the younger man for a frigid minute, Richie shook his head. "I don't, well, none of us know what you're trying to say, Dave." He replied. "What does a National Park have to do with anything?" He dragged his hands through his hair, shaking his head all the while. 

Looking annoyed, David stamped one of his feet. "What if..." He paused, and groaned again. "This...is a national park..?" David raised his old arm and motioned toward the trees, and then his arm fell limply against his side, and he closed his eyes again. 

"Oh. Oh, shit." Alec rubbed his chin. "Yeah, he's got a point." He said. 

"Yeah, it's creative and all, but has anybody seen any signs of this place actually being a National Park?"Jon said, hating to be the buzz kill, but needing to say it. 

"It might be a protected reserve." Richie said. "Or, we're so deep in the woods, that nobody bothered to put any signs or nothing." He was beginning to be hopeful again, the light returning to his dark eyes. 

Jon thought about that, and he wondered if it could be true. He tried not to get his hopes up, but it was hard when the theory was, well, realistic. Jon looked around, as if hoping to see some sort of sign, a signal, a beacon. "Don't Parks have Guard towers?" He asked. "With radios?" Jon was pretty sure, anyways. 

"Some do." Alec said, and he smiled. "We still have a chance. Not a good one, but a chance." He looked up at the sky, and his smile fell away. "Somebody's gotta go tell Teek, though. And I'm not gonna be that guy." Alec looked back at David, who was maybe not sleeping, but definitely not _there,_ as in awake and conscious, no matter if he was breathing. 

"Well?" Richie said. 

"It's a good idea, especially coming from a man whose half-conscious, but we can't know for sure." Alec said. "I propose that we get moving." 

**Tuesday 11:16 PM**

After a short debate, Jon trekked back toward Tico and their pathetic grave, arms wrapped around his chest, not quite sure what he was going to say or do, but knowing that he needed to do _something._ He couldn't let anybody be left behind, and he couldn't let anybody die. 

The air was bitterly cold, and each breath made Jon's lungs burn. He was considering David's theory, bouncing ideas in between his head. It was a good one, but, at the same time, Jon couldn't help but wonder if it was even possible. 

They'd been all over the woods. Surely, they must've seen something by now, but then Jon thought about that nutcase that'd taken David hostage. Jon wondered if maybe, just maybe, he'd been a park ranger, but Jon knew that the only way he could know for sure would be to ask David, and he couldn't do that. 

As he'd been a few minutes earlier, Tico was standing beside Bryce's body, frozen and still, like a statue. Jon could've been fooled into thinking that the drummer had been frozen solid, and the thought sent a bolt of sadness through his heart as he walked over. "Hey." Jon said quietly. 

Tico didn't visibly react. "Hi." He replied. "Alec sent you?" It wasn't a question. 

"Yeah." Jon came to a stop a few feet away. "We have to start moving, Teek, I'm sorry." He didn't waste their time with the small talk, with going around in useless circles, because, in the end, nothing like that mattered. 

"Don't be. None of this is your fault." Tico replied. 

"Alec will start moving without you, you know that, right?" Jon said mildly. "Please don't force me to make that choice." He couldn't do that, not in that moment. Jon wasn't strong enough to do that, his strength was sapped from his body and mind, and it left him feeling small and exhausted. 

"I won't." Tico rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just give me a minute, okay? Go on and tell Alec and Richie that I'll be over there in a minute." He paused, and then sighed. "How's David doing?" He asked. 

Jon shrugged. "Out of it. But...he's got a theory. I'll tell you when you're done." 

Hesitating for a minute, Jon walked over, and he rested his hand on Tico's shoulder, a silent moment of comfort. Tico closed his eyes, and it was impossible to tell if he was crying. Jon remembered the look in Bryce's eyes, and his grip tightened momentarily, before he let go and turned around. 

There was a wolf, the same one from earlier, standing there, watching them. 

Jon shrieked and backed into Tico, who grabbed his shoulders and forced him to stay still. Tico's grip was tight and firm, and Jon felt like his heart was about to beat from his chest. "Oh, my God." Jon whimpered, and he raised one of his hands and bit down. 

"Fuck." Tico whispered. "Fuck." He repeated. 

The wolf's ears peeled back onto its head, and it snarled. It lowered his head, and seemed to stiffen up, like it'd just heard something. Jon didn't know shit about wolves besides the obvious, and Tico didn't, either, but it was clear that it was preparing to attack. "If there's one, there's more." Tico hissed. 

" _Where?"_ Jon asked around his hand. 

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps. Or, rather, pawsteps. Jon could see, out of the corner of his eye, as a bigger wolf stepped out from the shadows and crept toward them. Tico cursed in a low voice as it approached, but, rather than lunge at them, the wolf started sniffing around Bryce's body. 

"No." Tico said. "No, no, shit." He went to step foward, but Jon scrambled to grab him in as tight of a grip as he could. 

"Please don't." Jon whispered. "God, please don't." 

And Tico didn't, maybe because Jon was holding onto him so tightly, or maybe because of his own fear, but he stayed rooted to the spot. They watched as the wolf sniffed at the body, and didn't seem to realize that there were two a _live_ humans staring at it, terrified and knowing full and well that they could, soon, be the next ones on the dinner menu. 

For which, Jon thought, he was glad. He moved his head and looked at Tico, who forced himself to move his gaze from the wolf to Jon. They stared at each other for a long minute, and some sort of silent communication seemed to pass between them. Jon looked back down at his feet, and slowly inched himself forward. A wolf growled, and he stilled suddenly, but none of the wolves stepped up to the plate to try and even inspect them, much less attack them. 

Tico began to walk, forcing Jon to move, too. A few wolves were starting to sniff at the corpse, pawing at the rocks, and Tico moved a little faster, as if afraid that he would jump back there to fend them off. Jon took a forcibly deep breath, and nearly stumbled as his eyes averted from the ground to the wolves. Tico gripped his arm tight, and kept Jon upright as they moved along. 

As soon as they were approaching the outcrop of trees, Tico nudged Jon to move faster, and Jon did as told. He jogged through the trees, the branches whipping at his face, and emerged on the other side. Jon stumbled, and he nearly fell into view of Richie, Alec and David, who were sitting, silent. 

Sharply, Alec turned his head, and he opened his mouth, but Tico pressed his finger against his lips. "Wolves." He whispered, as Jon got to his feet and walked quickly toward David, who was in a somewhat lethargic state, and didn't seem too aware with what was going on. 

" _What?_ Shit." Alec groaned. 

Richie grimaced. "We should've gotten moving sooner." He said, standing up. 

"Hey, are you awake?" Jon waved his hand in front of David's face. David flinched, which was answer enough, Jon supposed. They didn't have time for David to come back down, anyways. 

"Let's get moving before the wolves realize that a dead body isn't their only source for food." Tico muttered, carefully avoiding eye contact with Alec, for fear of being reminded that Alec had proposed that idea several minutes before. 

Jon managed to get David up and into a somewhat-standing position. David's head lolled and he stumbled but remained standing, which would have to be good enough if they were going to start moving. 

"How many wolves are there?" Alec asked. 

"Too many." Tico answered. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to @live_wiree for her advice regarding David's infection. Thank you!

**Tuesday 11:25 PM**

They'd started out walking. 

Slowly, pushing past the branches and leaves, unsure of where they were going, but knowing that they needed to go somewhere. The silence had been overwhelming and tense, and only their harsh breathing could be heard in the darkness that was pushing through the air. 

But then the howls had started. But then the growls had sounded. And then there had been rapid footsteps, claws clicking against the ground. 

That's when the panic had set in. 

**Tuesday 11:43 AM**

The darkness made it increasingly hard to make their way through the trees. A small part of Tico just wanted to fall to his knees, to just let the wolves overwhelm him, but he couldn't. Even as the branches whipped at his face, as the tangled roots tripped him up, Tico knew that he couldn't stop. He couldn't give up, not in that moment, not as he tripped and tangled and ran behind his friends. 

In their chase and panic, they'd gotten spread out. Tico knew that Alec was nearby, and that Richie was somewhere ahead. Jon and David, however, were as good as invisible, and Tico kept looking around, his heart in his throat, but couldn't find them. Tico had half the mind to stop, to look around and find them, but he could also hear the wolves, and they were close by, and he couldn't stop. 

Tico was concerned that there would be a cliff, a sudden drop-off that would end in jagged rocks and deep water, and then what? They wouldn't be able to see it coming amidst the trees and bushes and darkness. Tico grunted, tripping over a root, tumbling over a tree root and falling to his hands and knees, tumbling into a small clearing, the ah filled with the sound of running water. 

As he fell, Tico's hand hit a pool of water, and his eyes widened as he looked along the trail of water that ended in a loud waterfall that was pouring over an abrupt cliff. The sight would've been beautiful, if it wasn't so terrifying. 

"Fuck!" Alec said sharply as he came into view. There were leaves in his hair, dark eyes wide and panicked. " _Fuu-uuck."_ He groaned, bending down and resting his hands on his knees, panting harshly, chest rising and falling, his breath visible in the freezing, dark night. 

"Don't panic." Tico replied, but he wasn't sure what else that they could do. He turned and looked over his shoulder, just in time to see Richie emerge, stumbling as his feet got tangled up, but managed to keep himself upright. "Where the fuck did Jon and David go?" Tico asked, more to himself than to the two. 

"Don't say that." Richie looked around, seeing that neither Jon nor David were nearby, that they didn't seem to have cleared the woods just yet. "Oh, God." He moaned, his face falling in terror. 

"How can we not?" Alec looked around frantically. 

Richie dragged his hands through his hair. "Oh, My God. I'm going back there." 

"Wait!" Tico held his hand out before Richie could go back into the thick brush of trees. "Hold on, give them a minute." He cursed that none of them had thought to pause and help them, but pushed the guilt aside, they couldn't fall back into that mindset, not yet, not now. 

Suddenly, with a yelp, David fell into view, and then Jon followed, tumbling to his knees. Sharp blue eyes flickered up, and Jon let out an exhale that could be heard even above the waterfall. "Oh, thank God, I thought we'd gotten lost." Jon said. 

Richie walked across the few feet that separated them. "I was so fucking worried." He said, wrapping his arm around Jon's neck and pulling him in for a minute to kiss the side of his head before pulling back away. 

With a shrug, Jon turned around and helped David up. David stumbled and leaned heavily into Jon, but Tico walked over. The growls had fallen into silence, but that was just as scary as the actual noises had been. The darkness just made it so much worse. Tico wrapped his arm around David's waist. "I'll take him." Tico said. 

Looking relieved, Jon nodded. He looked back out toward the woods, face pinched in worry. There was a cut on his cheek that was bleeding steadily, and, impatiently, Jon wiped the blood away with his sleeve. 

"They're coming, aren't they?" Richie said worriedly. 

"I don't know." Alec replied. 

Tico could feel David shivering, and he was unstable, surprisingly heavy despite his slim frame. "Hey. Are you okay?" Tico asked, even though he already knew what the answer would be. 

"No." David whispered. 

And that's what Tico had expected, but it still hurt his heart. 

The silence was, somehow, worse than the growls. At least Tico knew as he listened to the growls that they were somewhere, but now, he had no idea where'd they gone off to, and he was stuck, standing there, an injured man leaning against him, and the weight of three more on his shoulders. 

An eternity seemed to pass, but barely five minutes had gone by since they'd stumbled into the clearing. The wolves were either still in the trees, or, less likely, they'd lost interest. Tico didn't know, but his heart was pounding out of his chest, and David's own heart was thrumming against his side. 

Even worse was the darkness. It would've been a beautiful night, had Tico been there for vacation. The trees were ominous shadows and shapes in the black night, and the stars had never seemed so plentiful, like glittering jewels amidst the dull darkness. But Tico wasn't there on vacation, and he desperately wished that somebody, anybody, would come along and rescue them. 

Eventually, five minutes had turned into ten, and then fifteen, and, finally, twenty minutes had gone by. Tico knew that wolves had excellent senses, that they could smell them, hear them, see them, but unless they were playing an unusually long game of cat and mouse, they'd gone, and Tico should've been relieved, but all he could do was let out a heavy exhale. 

"Let's sit down, for a minute, and try and figure out what we're gonna do." Tico said, breaking the silence that'd fallen over them. Jon flinched and Alec turned to stare at him, his face stoic but an unspoken emotion in his eyes. Tico knew that they'd have a lot to work through, if they made it out. 

Richie nodded. "Okay." He agreed, slowly bending his knees and allowing himself to fall without much care. Granted, there wasn't a lot left to care about, but the emotions remained, coloring their faces. 

After a minute, Jon followed suit, and Alec sighed and did the same. Tico had to maneuver David onto the ground, and then he sat down himself, five pitiful figures in an unknown land, hungry and injured and exhausted. 

"So...wolves." Richie said. 

"Weird fuckin' ones, too." Jon muttered with a shake of his head. 

"Maybe, I dunno, they just wanted to scare us." Alec said, but even he didn't seem convinced by those words. 

"They smell me." David said miserably. "The blood." He looked pathetic, arm tucked against his chest, half-slumped against the ground. He seemed a little more awake, alert, and coherent, but with the self-awareness came the cold realization that they were like lone swimmers in the water, with one of them bleeding into the ocean, sharks circling below. 

"Shhh." Tico didn't want to think about that, and he reached out, lightly resting his hand on David's back. "It doesn't matter, s'not important." Even though it was. In truth, Tico knew that the conversation would just end in an argument. 

"It _is."_ David whined. "I'm putting you all in fucking danger." He sniffed and then buried his face against his knees, effectively ending the conversation before it had even begun in earnest. 

"Don't be a martyr." Jon warned softly. 

"Until one of us dies, then we're sticking together." Richie said firmly. 

Alec nodded. "We just need to find resources." He added. 

"Exactly." Tico said. "We're not dead yet. We just need to find more clean water, food, and some sort of shelter...or we can create one. It wouldn't be that hard." 

"Maybe we should retrace our steps." Alec said. "Go back to the river." 

"Or just find a way down this cliff. There's another river below." Richie pointed out.

" _And,"_ Jon said, staring at all of them pointedly. "We need to clean David's cut." 

"Yeah." Tico paused. "Do we just..." He made a pouring motion weakly, but he doubted that anybody could see him. 

"That's one thing that I know about infections." Alec said. 

"What?" Richie asked. 

There was a short stretch of silence, and then Alec started laughing. He pressed his hand against his mouth, but Tico could still hear his muffled laughter. For some reason, the noise was...sweet. After two days of complaining and crying, the sound of laughter was like a present a few days before Christmas. 

But then Alec's laughter cut off abruptly, and there was an ashamed undercurrent in the silence, and Tico knew why. After Bryce's death and Doc's presumed demise, laughter was like spitting on their graves. 

"Um...we need to... _somebody..."_ Alec sounded mischievous and still faintly amused, wrapping his arms around his legs and pulling them against his chest. "I don't - this is fucking weird, man." He rubbed his face. 

"What?" Richie repeated. "Do you need to preform a magical ceremony on it?" He didn't sound like he was joking. 

Alec took a deep breath. "Um...well, we don't _need_ to, but it'd, um." He sounded like he was about to start laughing on it. "Pissing on the wound helps." 

Immediately, Tico felt a smile pull at his lips. He couldn't help it. "What?" 

"Dear God." Jon moaned, burying his face in his hands. 

"You _would_ know that, Alec." Richie said. 

"Where'd you learn that?" Tico asked. 

Licking his lips, Alec let out a low chuckle and fought a small smile. "Um, I used to date this German girl. She was a nurse. Is, I dunno. Anyways, I dated her for like two weeks, and all this time she was spouting medical shit off at me, and, I dunno, I guess I just remembered this one piece of information after all these years." He gestured vaguely in the air. 

They all stared at each other, and then they slowly turned to David, who was staring at them, his eyes hazy. "No." David said. 

"Again, we don't need to." Alec hurriedly said before David began to freak out. "But it would help with the infection." He began to smile again and turned his face away, and David frowned, looking upset. 

"But that's weird." David said. 

Richie began to giggle hysterically, covering his mouth so that he didn't attract anything with the noise. Tico had his lips pursed to fight the smile that was trying to come through. Jon, the only one with a straight face, stood up and slowly walked over to where David was. "It's okay." Jon said as he sat down. "They're just immature." He shook his head. 

After everything that'd happened, it felt nice to smile, to be happy, amused, laughing at some immature moment, but then Tico remembered Bryce, and his heart dropped. His fighting smile disappeared, and Tico felt ashamed, his eyes falling to the ground. Bryce would never laugh again, smile again. It was all so fucking unfair that Tico couldn't stand it. 

But the moment was only made worse by the knowledge that David should've been laughing, too, but he was too exhausted, his mind not working properly after no food and minimal water, two cold nights, injuries that were paining him with every movement, a traumatizing event that would plague him forever, to do much more than frown and look at everybody like they were crazy. 

Maybe they were. 

And Tico didn't want to think about how true that 'maybe' was. 

**Wednesday 1** **2:03 AM**

"Maybe we should catch some sleep." Tico said. 

The mere idea obviously caught the attention that it needed to, because Jon looked at him, his blue eyes startlingly bright in the darkness. "And the wolves?" 

Shrugging, Tico looked into the trees, so closely clumped together that they looked like soldiers, ready for war. "I don't think they'll attack. It's been too long, so maybe I'll keep watch, we can try to get some sleep, and then start walking when the sun comes up." He said. 

"But what if the wolves _do_ come?" Richie asked. 

"If we're close enough together, I can just wake everybody up." Tico replied. 

Alec shifted a little bit. "Wake me up in two hours. We can take turns." 

There was an unspoken refusal to go back near the trees, so they stayed in the clearing, with Tico propped up on his hands, too afraid to lay down for fear that he'd fall asleep. Richie and Jon laid down together on one side, and Alec laid down on the other side with David. 

It took David a minor amount of convicting before he finally allowed himself to be helped to the ground fully, and, long after the other three had shut his eyes, his own remained open until, finally, they slid shut. 

And Tico remained, alternating between looking toward the woods, the sky, and then at the cliff, just a few feet away. The waterfall had become background noise, but the loudness still shocked Tico, who'd never seen one before, and hated that he was seeing one, for the first time, under such circumstances. 

' _Bryce should've_ _been able to see it_.' Tico thought, and he felt his eyes burn under the threat of tears. He wiped them away, knowing that Bryce wasn't important anymore, but it still hurt. Tico should've been able to save him, but he hadn't, and now a man was dead. It was a cold reality to their situation, one filled with danger and unspoken threats. 

But they could do this, Tico tried to tell himself. They would survive. David would survive. What would come after they were rescued didn't matter, because they needed to focus on survival, and that was all that mattered. 

Slowly, so as to not disturb the sleeping people around him, Tico stood up. He crept out from the group, and walked toward the waterfall, slow and tentative. He wasn't afraid of heights, really, but the sight of such an abrupt drop still made him dizzy. The darkness made it hard to calculate how long of a drop it was, but Tico was pretty sure that it was about fifty feet. 

Tico backed away from the cliff when the dizziness got worse, and then looked around. There was nothing to be seen, and Tico was uncertain, knowing that they, when day came, would have to go back into the woods, into a place that, if they were rescued, they'd never go in again. 

**Wednesday** **3:42 AM**

Alec tried to connect the stars, but that didn't be him anywhere. He found a rock that he tossed around for awhile, but then he miscalculated the toss and it tumbled over the cliff. He sat there, biting his nails, debating on what things he missed the most that were now just a pile of ashes in the bus. 

Probably his guitar. Alec had loved that thing, had lovingly tuned her every night, but now she was just ashes amongst flames, and would never be tuned again.

Without meaning to, Alec's thoughts turned to Bryce, and he showed them away angrily. That asshole hadn't deserved to die, but Alec still didn't like him, especially because he was part of the reason that they were all in this mess. 

But Alec still felt sorry for him, no matter how much of a jerk he was. Bryce had a mother, maybe a girlfriend, maybe a wife, maybe a kid. Alec wished that none of this had happened, but also knew that wishing would get them nowhere. 

Alec heard David's breath hitch, and then he heard a whimper. He turned his head and looked down at the younger man. David was still asleep, but he was starting to shift around, his face pinched, looking torn between pain and terror. Alec cursed softly, and then looked behind him, but Tico hadn't woken up. Richie, who had his head propped on Jon's shoulder, was still asleep, too, but Alec couldn't see Jon's, who was laying between Tico and Richie, face, so whether or not he'd woken up was a mystery. 

Another whimper, and David rolled himself onto his back. "Don't..." He mumbled, and Alec cursed again. He lay down on his side, propped up on his elbow, and lightly placed his hand on David's chest. 

"Wake up. It's a nightmare, man." Alec said softly. "Just wake up." 

David's eyes opened, and his breath hitched again. He looked at Alec. "We're never gonna get out of here, are we?" He whispered. 

"What?" Alec's eyebrows furrowed. "Of course we will." But he didn't know that for certain, and it was a lie, cold and clear. 

"No, we won't." David closed his eyes and shook his head. "We're gonna die out here." He moaned, and it was like he was undergoing a chance, from his usually happy, easygoing self to someone who was getting increasingly pessimistic about their chances of survival. 

Even if they did survive, if all of them managed to get out, then the mental damage would be irreparable. Alec knew that, while he and the rest of the guys just had minor bumps and bruises, cuts and scratches, that the aftermath of this situation would be much worse than any physical damage. 

Not to mention David. His injuries would be recoverable, if they managed to get help in time. If they could find civilization in the next few days, then David would survive, but after being held hostage by a psycho, being stuck out in the wilderness as he was tormented by a zoo of wildlife, would result in irreparable damage to his mind. 

"We won't, okay? We're gonna live, and you're never gonna have to go out in the woods ever again." Alec said. 

David let out a shuddering breath. "Bryce died." He said. "What's stopping me from dying?" It might've been a question, possibly not. 

"Bryce got attacked by a bear and he bled out. Your injuries aren't that bad." Alec said, carefully avoiding the subject of the infection getting worse. 

And David only looked at him, and it was clear that he didn't believe a word that was being told. 

**Wednesday 5:03 AM**

Eventually, David had gone back to sleep, and Alec remained awake, staring out as the sun slowly rose beyond the mountains. It was a hauntingly beautiful sight, one that Alec should've been enjoying, except he only sighed, and rubbed a hand over his grizzled face. 

Despite the fact that Alec had been sitting for awhile, his legs still ached as he turned over and shoved Tico's shoulder. Tico mumbled weakly, and Alec felt a rush of pity for him before he shoved the other man again. Tico had fallen asleep with the firm instructions of waking him up at daybreak, and his dark eyes popped open. The beginnings of sunlight pierced his eyes, and Tico winced. 

"Oh, shit." Tico groaned, stretching out slightly. "Shit, I'm too old for this, man." 

Alec found himself smiling. "Speak for yourself. I'm fine as a fucking butterfly." He replied, although that was a lie. The base of his spine had been aching badly when he'd woken up, but the pain had long faded, just like the darkness. 

"You sure don't look like one." Tico replied, but he was smirking faintly, and Alec knew that they'd be okay. Somehow, someway, they'd be okay. 

"Oh, jeez, it's too early." Richie groaned, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Jon, sympathetic, rubbed his shoulder. 

Beside Alec, David managed to push himself up. He looked paler, and it was clear that, maybe, he didnt have those few days. "Good morning, sunshine." Alec said.

David looked at him groggily. "What time is it?" He asked. 

"Um..five-ten am." Tico glanced at his watch. 

"Great." Jon sighed, rubbing one of his hands through his hair. 

The sky was a beautiful combination of blue and pink, a sight that would've been worth staying for, if their need to getting moving wasn't so desperate. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Wednesday** **5:12 AM**

Richie sighed as he zipped his pants back up and looked around the trees, loosely scattered around him. The sun was beginning to rise more fully, but Richie still felt the pull of exhaust soon at his eyes, no matter how long he'd been awake, and the idea of going back to sleep was slowly, but surely, getting more tantalizing by each and every passing minute. But Richie knew that he couldn't, and he yawned, wiping his hands on his pants before turning around and walking back to where he knew the rest of the group was. 

Still stuck in the clearing, Tico and Alec were talking to each other in low tones near the cliff. Tico had his arms crossed and Alec looked exhausted. Jon was peering over the cliff a few feet away, and David was laying down, looking like he'd already died, but his chest was rising steadily, and his eyelashes were fluttering. It was a sad sight, and Richie walked over to Jon, unsure of what to do or say to make David feel better. 

It looked like Jon was considering jumping, and even though Richie knew better, he grabbed Jon's arm anyways, feeling his bones too easily underneath the jacket and shirt that Jon was wearing. Startled, Jon turned up to look at him. They stared at each other for a long, tense minute. "I'm fucking scared, man." Jon said, and his voice broke. 

"I know." Richie replied. He took a deep breath, and he wrapped one of his arms around Jon's shoulders. "We'll make it out, though." He whispered against Jon's tangled hair, and Richie found himself thinking about the little things that were changing. They shouldn't be here, they should be in some hotel, and nobody should've died. But, instead, they were stuck in some Canadian woods with nowhere left to run. 

"But will we _all_ make it out?" Jon whispered against Richie's shoulder. 

"Yes." Richie replied firmly. "We will, I swear." He hoped so, anyways. 

"Rich?" Jon looked up, his blue eyes widening slightly. 

"Yeah?" Richie said. 

"If...when, we get back, we can tell my parents." Jon said, his voice soft, and almost afraid. But his eyes said otherwise. And Richie looked down at him, shocked, surprised, but then he smiled. 

"Really?" Richie knew, though, that it was the truth. "You're not afraid anymore?" 

"After all that we've been through, whatever my parents think doesn't scare me anymore." Jon replied. "And, compared to half the shit I've gotten into, being with my best friend is a walk in the fucking park." He kissed Richie's cheek and then looked back down, the faint sunlight catching in his eyes. 

Richie smiled, and then his smile turned into a grin. He felt like laughing, but shoved most of his happiness down into the depths of his soul, reminding himself that their ordeal wasn't over yet. But Richie smiled, and he reached out to pull Jon into a hug. "Thank you." He whispered. 

**Wednesday 5:17 PM**

"We don't even know where the fuck we're going." Alec said, gesturing vaguely out toward the water below. He was exhausted, and his head was already starting to ache. "For all anybody knows, we're gonna go backwards and just end up back where we began!" He hissed. 

"Isn't backwards the way we want to go?" Tico said, eyebrows quirked. "I mean, we need to get back to the road, anyways." He paused, and then wondered if they could even make it back, anyways. 

"Okay. Where's the road?" Alec asked, even though it wasn't really a question, anyways. They were going around in circles, talking about so many things that mattered and didn't matter. 

"I don't know, God." Tico huffed. 

It was like Tico's thoughts were heavy, muddled, confusing. A mixture of bad sleep, lack of food and lack of water was beginning to take its toll on everybody, not to mention the mental issues that were beginning to make their appearance. 

They wouldn't make it much farther, anyways, without some sort of substance in them. But Tico couldn't tell the difference between trees, much less between the berries that were safe to eat or not, and everybody knew that, it was just a question of speaking it aloud. 

Alec's stomach rumbled, and he winced. "Fuck. You thinkin' about the same thing that I am?" He said. 

"You bet." Tico shut his eyes for a long moment, and then opened them. A small part of him had been hoping that, when he opened them back up, that he'd be somewhere far, far away, but no dice. 

"None of us are getting anywhere without food." Alec looked down at where David was, and tried to ignore how skinny he looked after just a few days without food. 

Hell, how skinny they _all_ looked. 

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees. Tico's heart jumped to his throat and he whirled around toward the woods, eyes widening as he watched a dark shape move amongst the foliage, twice crunching underneath his heavy weight. A small part of Tico felt like laughing, but all he could do was stare as the bear came into view, his eyes wide and blank and soulless. 

"Holy shit." Alec breathed out, and he stepped backwards. Tico whirled around and grabbed him just before Alec would've tumbled over the cliff, down into the water below. Alec clutched frantically at him as the bear advanced. 

The bear looked even bigger than it had last night, long shaggy fur and panting breath. He snorted heavily and let out a growl. His dark eyes flicked over to David, and Tico let go of Alec, stepping foward, but Jon was faster. Richie went to grab him but Jon ducked past his grip and fell to his knees beside David. 

Everything was going in slow motion. The bear, Jon, even the birds as they took off from the trees. Jon grabbed David and shook him hard, once, before dragging him up into a sitting position. David opened his eyes, and then he opened his mouth. Jon smacked his hand over David's mouth and pulled them both backwards, away from the bear. 

Richie stepped foward to help drag Jon back, and the bear let our a bellowing roar, stepping towards them again. His flaws clicked against the ground, and Tico frantically looked around, wondering if they could make a run for it. The bear would surely grab them within his jaws if they tried to run past, and Tico wasn't ready to risk it, anyways. 

There wasn't a big enough gap, anyways, between the bear and the trees. Tico had seen it run before, and that fucker was fast. No matter how well-rested they were, fed and without an injured man to look after, they wouldn't have been able to make it. 

And everybody knew it. 

"Fuck. Oh, fuck." Alec whimpered, and his grip was tight, painfully so. Tico looked behind them, at the cliff, at the waterfall and the flowing water below. It was a high drop, but people had survived worse, hadn't they? And Alec was looking at him, all big brown eyes. "Don't you fucking care, Torres." Alec said. 

"What else do you wanna do?" Tico whispered. "Take our chances with him? No thanks." He shook his head firmly. 

"David can't survive that!" Alec flinched as the bear growled and took another menacing step foward. 

"He can't survive that thing either!" Tico thrust his finger toward the bear. "Listen, man, the bear isn't gonna follow us down there, you and I both know that." 

Alec looked borderline hysterical. "God, you're fucking stupid, oh my god." He ran his hands through his hair and looked down, maybe debating their probability of survival. He was breathing harshly through gritted teeth. "I can't swim well." Alec whispered. 

"I'll help you." Tico replied. 

"What are you two talking about?" Richie asked sharply. "If you two haven't noticed, that's a fucking bear." He was crouching down beside Jon, who still had his hand over David's mouth. David was awake now, but didn't seem to be truly, really _there._

"We gotta jump." Tico said. 

"Excuse me?" Jon looked at them like they'd gone crazy, his eyes wide behind his hair. "No, nu-uh, no way." He shook his head, cringing away from the bear as he inspected them, puffing air heavily through his nose. 

"It's the only way. We can't get around the bear." Tico insisted. "Alec doesn't know how to swim well, so I can help him, and you and Richie can help David. It's a high drop but it's okay, people have survived worse, we can do this." He was falling down a hill, desperate for a grasp on something, anything. 

Richie sighed. "Hardly the worst thing. Would you rather get eaten by the bear, babe?" He seemed remarkably calm, which was either a good thing or a bad thing, because Tico remembered that Richie was terrified of heights, that getting too close to the edge of the stage was scary for the guitarist. 

Jon groaned. "I can't. This isn't happening right now." He said softly. 

"C'mon, guys. We can do this. The bear isn't gonna follow us down there, and it'll get us away from the wolves and...well, everything." Tico continued. "I swear, I wouldn't be insisting that we do this if I wasn't sure that we would survive." He said, but Alec looked at him with still wide eyes. 

"You're fucking insane." Alec said, sounding both amazed and annoyed. 

"Up, up, up." Richie suddenly said, as the bear came closer, and closer. Jon scrambled to his feet, and David was dragged along with him. David whined, but went along, anyways, stumbling as he tried to get his feet underneath his body, but failing. 

"We have to go soon, guys." Tico said. 

"Shut up." Alec took a deep breath, and looked back down. "Okay. Okay. Okay." 

"What?" Jon looked at him. 

"We can do this. I'd rather drown then die by...that thing." Alec gestured vaguely toward the bear. His hand was shaking. "Okay, we can all swim...reasonably well, I guess. Well, not me but that doesn't - David has you and Rich, both of you are good swimmers, okay, we can do _this."_ He didn't sound convinced, but then the bear took another rapid few steps toward, and then back, as if taunting them. 

"You don't sound so fucking sure!" Richie snapped, and then he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It didn't seem to work. 

"Um, David, can you do this? Are you okay?" Jon asked. 

David whimpered. 

"We need to go." Tico said just a second before the bear growled again. He lunged out and swiped with his paw suddenly, and Richie grabbed Jon and pulled him backwards. David nearly fell with the force, if not for Jon's firm grip from around his waist. 

"Yeah, okay, we can do this." Alec mumbled. "We can do this. We didn't fucking survive those wolves for this asshole..." He trailed off. 

"What do we do?" Jon asked. 

It took Tico a minute for it to process that Jon was asking _him._ "Oh." Tico said, and then he cleared his throat. "You two take David, he won't be able to swim very well, and just...swim, don't think about anything else, just swim." He glanced over the cliff. "There's land fairly close. Swim toward it." He instructed. 

"And us?" Alec asked faintly. 

Tico whirled around and gripped his shoulders. "Swim like hell, man." 

**Wednesday 5:42 AM**

It was the stupidest idea that Jon had ever heard, but he was stuck with it, and it was, really, their only chance for survival. If he wanted to live to see tomorrow, he needed to think about today, and Jon thanked his father for all of those swimming classes that he'd been forced to take as a kid. 

Richie's grip was tight. Jon pressed his face against David's hair. "Do you understand that?" He whispered. David didn't respond, his eyes were glassy and wide. The bear reflected in the blue-green depths, terror shining brightly. Jon took a deep, shuddering breath. Richie squeezed his shoulders. 

"Well?" Richie asked. "Are we gonna do this, babe?" 

"We don't have much of a choice." Jon replied. 

The bear was getting closer, and David was shaking. Jon pulled him as far back as possible. They were getting close to the cliff. Jon, who had never been scared of heights, felt dizzy. "Richie?" He said. 

"Yeah?" Richie was glancing behind him, calculating the distance. His grip became even tighter, somehow. 

"I love you." Jon whispered. 

"I love you, too." Richie said. "So, we're gonna do this shit?" 

"Yeah." Jon nodded slowly. 

"This is stupid as fuck." David remarked dryly. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Wednesday 5:48 AM**

It was like something out a bad movie, except it was too real, and Alec was living in this movie, and he wanted to yell for a cut, for a break, to just let him relax and read his lines again but he couldn't, and the bear was coming, and it was too late to do anything more than watched as he approached. 

"You three go first." Tico said, so quietly that Alec had a hard time hearing him amidst the waterfall and the bear snorting. When Alec put his foot fully on the ground, half of it hung off of the cliff. "And we'll follow." Tico licked his lips, and then glanced over his shoulder, not down, but up, toward the sun that was just beginning to peek through the mountains. 

Alec expected for someone to argue the decision, but Richie and Jon just exchanged looks, and then both of them began to slowly move more toward the middle of the clearing, away from the rocks that were piled up on either side of the river. Alec didn't say anything, fully aware that Tico already knew the risks. It would be a moot point to say anything, anyways. 

Or, maybe, just a moot point to say anything that might ignite an argument. The drop seemed too tall, the water seemed to deep. Alec wasn't sure if they'd survive, if David would survive. Alec turned and looked at Tico. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Alec said, his words coming out in what big breath. "I'm sorry for being a jerk, at...any point in the last few years." He added. 

Slowly, Tico's lips upturned into a faint smile. "You've been a jerk a lot in the last few years, 'Lec." He said, sounding barely amused. "But I'm sorry for the way I was acting. And I know that you're upset about Bryce, too, and I apologize if I... _that_ I made you feel like you aren't." Tico said. 

"Jon told you?" Alec asked sharply. 

Tico shook his head. "Just a guess." He mumbled. 

Just a few feet away, so close that Alec could reach around Tico and touch them, it was like a tragedy before the fall. Jon had David's face between his hands and he was telling David something in his 'leader' tone, the one that Jon hadn't put on since the crash, and Alec realized that he'd missed it. Richie was looking down, his face carefully stoic. 

A part of Alec wanted to say something, _anything._ "Good luck." He managed to force out, and his voice sounded pitiful, weak. 

"Thanks, we're gonna fucking need it." Richie replied, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around his waist, tying it firmly. He glanced at the bear, watching them with calculating eyes, and then he looked at Jon. "Are you ready?" Richie asked. 

"No." Jon kept his own jacket on as he smiled reassuringly at David, but it didn't reach his eyes. Alec's breath caught in his throat. David looked worried, but he seemed to trust that Jon knew best. David was unsteady, and Jon kept a firm grip on him. It was all happening so fast yet so slow. 

Tico watched, silent, but he was starting to shake. Alec, for Tico's sake, told himself that the drummer was just cold. Richie gently but firmly grabbed David's other side and said something, inaudible, to Jon, who nodded. Richie turned, and he still looked remarkably calm. "See you down there." He said. 

"Swim like hell, Rich." Tico replied. 

"Will do." Richie was moving them foward, because David didn't seem to want to move and Jon looked doubtful about everything. Alec wondered if this would be the last time he'd ever see them, doubtful and faking confidence and with David looking like he'd been drugged, and then Jon said something to David, who gave a miniscule, clumsy nod. 

Jon took a deep breath, and Alec had to turn away because he couldn't watch this, he just couldn't, and it was only when three of his friends had jumped off the cliff and down into the water below that Alec crossed his arms and told himself to calm down, that, if David and Richie and Jon could make it, then they could, too. Tico was staring at the bear. 

It was so dumb that Alec felt compelled to laugh. He looked at Tico and Tico looked back. "We gotta do this." Tico said in his best 'leader' voice, and Alec nodded shortly. 

"I know." Alec replied. 

The bear was getting closer, making _hymph and hurah_ noises, sounding torn between anger and curiosity at the two strange creatures in front of it. Alec could feel his heart pounding frantically against his ribcage, panic and fear and so many things akin to adrenaline coursing through his veins. 

"Just think...this'll make a good book." Tico said, as if that mattered, as if anything else mattered. But Alec knew that he was just trying to lessen his anxiety, trying to remind Alec that they would survive. 

And then, without warning, Tico shoved Alec around, and they jumped. Or, rather, it was like Tico jumped and Alec was being forced along, but it happened all the same. The actual jump lasted much shorter than Alec had thought, and he would've been amused by that, except the wind stung his cheeks and he was breathless and fear was all that he could think about as they rushed, feet-first, toward the water. 

Tico's hand was firm. Alec had a flashing moment of remembrance of his last show, of playing bass and backup vocals and laughing and the firm grasp of a guitar in his hands, and the whole world was going by, and Alec was helpless as he watched. 

The water sent a shock up cold fear up Alec's lungs when they hit. A jolt of terrible pain courses through his back. Alec panicked, he couldn't feel Tico, and he was going to die. Alec knew how to swim but didnt like to and he was weak and he nearly almost died that one time with his cousin and then there were hands, and Alec couldn't breath, he was drowning. 

In the water, kicking but getting no traction, there were no thoughts, no sudden realizations, just the cold water and cold fear, and Alec opened his mouth without thinking and he choked, trying to cough but there was no air to cough, and the hands on him were harsh and clumsy. 

Everything was dark. The water got in Alec's eyes and it hurt. 

Suddenly, air hit his face, and Alec coughed. His lungs hurt, he still couldn't breath, but the hands were helping him, weren't they? Alec trusted those hands. 

In the distant reality, Alec could hear talking, no, muttering. The hands tightened painfully. Alec already felt himself begin to shiver uncontrollably. He couldn't see anything, his eyesight was shot, but he was kicking uselessly, his hands immobile. The hands did most of the work, pulling them both along as the rougher water fell away and it became smooth, and Alec could breath a little easier, but he was coughing laconically, a tickle remaining in his throat. 

Alec felt the land before he saw it, and there were more hands, there, pulling him up and along. The dirt was rough, and twigs broke under his weight and became sharp little knives. He fell, coughing and spitting up water, his chest heaving. Alec felt freezing, and he shivered as he looked up and around. 

Slowly, Tico was also getting up onto the dirt, breathing harshly. Richie was crouched down beside Alec's head, and Jon was helping Tico out of the water. A few inches from Richie, David was sitting, his wet hair hanging in front of his face, giving him a wet dog look. 

"I'm never gonna do that again." Richie said, looking between Alec and Tico and then back again. His dark eyes were wide in emphasis, arms crossed loosely over his chest. "Fuck this whole thing." He added softly, looking around the area that they'd found themselves in. 

The area didn't have nearly as much trees as the rest did, just a few scattered loosely around. There was a lot of grass, which Alec frowned at, clutching a handful within his fingers. He coughed once more, and then pushed himself into a sitting position, still trying to catch his breath. 

"We...all made it?" Tico asked breathlessly. 

Jon nodded. "Yeah." He answered. 

"Oh, thank God." Tico bent down, hands on his knees. "Thank God. I didn't know - I only realized while I was falling that any one of us could've broken our backs or something." He rubbed a hand over his face. 

"Well, we didn't." Richie said. "And David made it, so let's count our blessings." 

Finally, Alec managed to push himself into a sitting position. His nose felt weird from the water that he'd inhaled, and Alec felt like gagging at the feeling that it created at the back of his throat. "And the bear didn't follow." He said, feeling like he needed to contribute to the conversation. 

The cliff was too deep for any of them to see where the bear was, but that didn't ease their anxiety nor did it worsen it. Alec knew that there was probably some sort of way to get down from the cliff, so he didn't exactly feel better about being so far away. He sighed, and somehow managed to stand up, feeling a hard shiver wrack his body as he did so. 

"And that's the bad thing." Tico said, and Alec turned to look at him, eyebrows raised silently. Tico shrugged. "We need to get into the sun, try and warn ourselves up." He said. 

"Ah." Jon opened his mouth in an 'oh' and nodded. 

Richie stood up fully and turned around, walking over to where David was sitting, silent, in his own world. David wasn't shivering, despite being as wet as a dog and being as soaked as anybody else, even more so, considering that he hadn't moved much since Jon had set him there. He was just watching, clutching his arm against his chest. "Dave? How ya' feeling?" Richie asked. 

"Sick." David mumbled. 

Noticeably, Richie stepped away. 

"C'mon. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get away from Smokey and the Wild Ones." Jon muttered, taking his jacket off and holding it away from him to squeeze the water out from the material. Droplets of water fell to the ground and were absorbed by the dirt. 

"Hold on." Tico said. "Let's drink some water." 

Shaking his head, David pushed himself backwards. "No, no." He mumbled, looking as if the mere act of talking was a chore. 

"Even if it makes you sick, then whatever water that you _can_ drink is better than none. And it'll hold off our hunger." Tico replied. 

The adrenaline had taken Alec's mind off the hunger for awhile, but he could feel it returning, gnawing on his bones and stomach like a wild, starving dog. It was making him feel sick. "Okay." He agreed. 

**Wednesday 6:30 AM**

When they'd jumped, Richie had been terrified that they wouldn't make it. 

The water had seemed like a deep, bottomless place, and it had taken all of his will for him not to panic as soon as they'd hit the water. Richie had found himself alone when he'd hit the water, somehow having lost David on the way down, or maybe on impact. Richie had kicked and frantically tried to keep himself above the water, frantically looking around, praying that Jon was a good enough swimmer to keep both him and David up and alive. 

For one single, terrifying moment, Richie hadn't been able to see them. He had stared around him, terrified and praying to God that nothing would happen to them, and then Jon appeared, sputtering and coughing, his arms wrapped clumsily around David, who was, to his credit, kicking, but it didn't appear to be helping much, but they were alive and breathing, and much closer to the land than they should've been, but that was okay. 

Richie swam over, and without the added weight, however meagre it might've been, he made it before Jon did. Richie reached out and grabbed Jon by his arm, pulling him up and onto the ground. David was coughing, but he didn't even seem to have the energy for that. 

And then Tico and Alec had come down, and it'd been chaos from there. But they were alive, soaking wet, yes, but alive, and Richie said his prayers and sat down beside Jon, who had elected to stay while Tico and Alec went to go drink some water, despite having just been in there. 

"How are you?" Jon asked. 

"Tired. And cold." Richie replied, wrapping his arm around Jon's back. "How about you? I'm surprise you managed to keep you're head above water." He said. 

Jon shrugged. "Exhausted." He rubbed his eyes, and then smiled faintly. "But we made it." He said. 

"Yeah. We did." Richie kissed the side of his head and then pulled away. 

The sky was bright and blue, with not the slightest sign of clouds. Richie sighed as the sun hit his face, and he looked down at the ground below. There was a beetle, black and big, creeping along the ground. Jon saw it and visibly recoiled, but Richie continued to stare at it. 

Slowly, Richie bent down and inspected it quietly. "Oh, no, you're not gonna eat that." Jon said, but Richie didn't reply. 

Hunger made the beetle look enticing. But Richie's stomach turned and he shook his head. He didn't want to eat some random bug off the ground, but God, he was hungry. "I won't." He replied. 

"I'm sorry. I know that this is hard." Jon said. 

"We won't make it much further, though, without food." Richie looked over his shoulder, and Jon knew. He nodded once, and Richie reached out to take his hand, squeezing it lightly. There were microscopic cuts on Jon's hand, and Richie frowned. "We _will_ make it." He said firmly. 

Suddenly, David fell backwards. Jon lunged forward but Richie was closer, and he grabbed David in a firm grip, pulling him back up. David's head lolled, and he looked at them with glassy, unfocusing eyes. 

"Hey, Dave, hey." Richie said softly. David's head lolled again, and Richie grabbed the side of his head gently to steady it. "Hey, can you hear me?" Richie asked. 

David didn't seem to be hearing what was being said. He blinked, dazed, and then his eyes slid shut. 

"No! No, David." Jon lightly slapped the side of David's face. David opened his eyes. "You're gonna stay awake, man. You gotta." Jon said. 

"It hurts." David mumbled. 

"Well, you gotta stay awake, otherwise, how are ya' gonna get to the hospital so they can help you?" Richie said, trying to keep his voice light, as happy as it could be, but it just sounded forced. 

**Wednesday 6:58 AM**

Richie was squeezing the water from his socks. Jon was talking to David, who was only looking at him strangely. Tico was examining the area with narrowed eyes, and Alec stood beside him. 

The tension in the air was palpable. Alec pressed his hands against his hips, and looked at Tico, at the stubble on his face that was steadily growing into a beard, at the exhaustion in his eyes. "Thank you." Alec said. 

Confused, Tico turned his head a miniscule amount to look at Alec. "For what?" 

"Saving my life." Alec replied. 

Tico fought back a smile. "No problem, 'Lec." 


	24. Chapter 24

**Wednesday 7:12 AM**

Alec crossed his arms, and tried to avoid Tico's intense, dark gaze. "What?" Alec asked, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip and tasting copper. Alec finally sighed, and twisted his head to stare back at Tico. "What's wrong?" Alec felt irritating began to build in his chest. 

"We can do this." Tico said. "I'm gonna put aside my emotions, and push toward, get us out of here." He looked back away, but he was smiling. "I'm not gonna let anybody here die. I'm not gonna let David die." Tico's voice was firm with determination, one that shone strong in his eyes. 

"Finally." Alec felt a strange pressure relieve from his shoulders. "So, what's the plan?" He asked, raising one of his eyebrows slightly. 

"So, we came from that way." Tico pointed to their right, his hand high in the air. "I know that the road is somewhere that way. If nobody's searching over there yet, which they should, because of the fire, then we start moving back toward the gas station that we saw." He said. 

"There's nobody there." Alec began to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet, remembering how they'd passed it so long ago, how dark and dirty it had looked. 

"Yeah, but maybe there's a radio, or we can stay there, if it's dark." Tico replied. 

Alec nodded. "Good point." He admitted, rubbing his chin. 

"Our main concern, of course, is whether or not David will be able to make the hike." Tico said, glancing over his shoulder, but the rest of the guys were nowhere in sight. "He was able to make the jump, but those two things are very different." 

"How many miles do you think it is?" Alec asked. 

"Too many." Tico sighed. "I don't know. Ten, fifteen." He shrugged, because he didn't know, he really didn't. It was a rough estimate, one that probably wasn't even true. For all anybody knew, thirty, forty, fifty miles separated them from civilization, from any kind of help. 

"I'm not even talking about David when I ask you if we can even make that." Alec caught right of Richie, staring contemplatively at a bunch of leaves hanging from the branch of a tree. "Can Richie and Jon make it? They're exhausted, man." 

"They're gonna have to." Tico replied. 

But Tico doubted that, because Alec was right. Everybody was exhausted beyond words, weak and probably starting to fall apart after three days and not enough time to rest. Soon enough, the lack of food would catch up to them and make it hard for them to walk back to the road, hell, even make it a few feet. 

"What are we gonna do about the food situation?" Alec finally asked, unable to get the thought out of his head. "None of us are gonna make it for much longer." 

"Okay, hear me out here." Tico splayed his hands comfortingly. "The tree bark." 

"Oh, fuck that." Alec shook his head and stepped back. "I'm not eating any tree bark, Tico, sure as hell." He crossed his arms even tighter around his chest. "That is the second dumbest thing I've heard come from your mouth, second only to you suggesting that we jump off that fucking cliff." He pointed back toward the cliff in question, as if Tico had forgotten about it in the last thirty minutes. 

"But it was the right decision, so you can't complain." Tico replied. 

"That doesn't mean it wasn't dumb as fuck." Alec said. 

"Okay, we eat a piece of tree bark, what's the worst thing that could happen?" Tico stretched his arms wide, as if gesturing toward the rest of the area. 

"We die." Alec snapped. 

"Okay, hold on." Tico looked around, and then walked toward one of the taller trees that were around them. He slapped his hand onto the tree's bark. "This bad bad is a pine tree. This is a good tree." He said. "Now, we rip a piece of bark off the tree, but we don't eat the hard part, we eat the softer part inside." Tico dug one of his fingernails into a loose piece of bark and tore it off. 

Alec tossed one of his hands in the air and turned away. "You're gonna die." He said, shaking his head at the train wreck that was happening in front of him. 

"You're a dramatic asshole." Tico remarked as he inspected the tree bark, before he hesitantly raised the bark below his nose and sniffed it. He, blank-faced, lowered them, and looked at it again. Tico seemed to pull himself together, before he lifted the bark again and carefully took a bite of the inner layer. 

Standing there, chewing contemplatively, Tico slowly nodded. 

"What?" Alec took a step back, just in case. 

Tico spat out the bark, dropping the piece and wiping his hands on his shirt. "Ugh, that tasted like absolute shit." He groaned, spitting, his face twisted in grimace. 

"Yeah, because it was probably poison." Alec replied, giving Tico a humorous smile before he walked back toward where the others were as Tico continued to spit out the bark behind him. 

**Wednesday 7:18 AM**

Jon was painstaking as he ripped a small piece of cloth from his jacket and dipped it in the river. He squeezed the water out from the material and then turned to David, who was sitting, dazed, against Richie. Jon traded a faint glance with Richie, and then gently began to dab the wound on David's neck. 

Recoiling from the touch, David stared at Jon through his hair. But it wasn't David, sweet and carefree. It was just a shell of a man who had just been through hell, and it hurt, so bad. Jon felt a physical ache in his heart when he looked and stared into those blue-green eyes, and didn't see his friend, his brother. 

No, Jon only saw pain. "Shhh." He said, reaching out to cup the back of David's neck to keep him in place. "It's okay...this'll help you, buddy. I promise." Jon hoped so, anyways. But David didn't seem to hear him, only stared at him in that distant way that Jon hated. 

From over David's head, Richie caught Jon's eye. Jon pressed his lips thinly together and then dipped the piece of cloth back in the water again. "What's your name?" He said conversationally, 

"Hmm?" David hummed. 

"What's your name?" Jon repeated. 

David inhaled sharply. "Um." He said. "David...Bryan." 

"What's your last name?" Jon asked, even though it wasn't a real question. He looked at David, eyebrows pitched down toward his eyes as he squeezed the water out and began to dab at the wound again. For a man who was usually rushing to get things done, one after another after another, Jon was being exceptionally slow. 

"Rashbaum." David mumbled. 

"Good." Jon said. 

Richie let out an audible sigh of relief. "And what do you do?" He asked. 

"What...keyboards." David said. 

" _And?"_ Richie prompted. 

"Pianos." David looked deeply confused. 

"Well, yeah, but not quite." Jon smiled faintly. "You sing, don't you?" 

"Oh, _yeeaahh."_ David nodded, but he still didn't quite seem to understand. 

"What does your father do?" Jon asked. 

David furrowed his eyebrows. "Trumpet." He said. 

"Good." Richie said comfortably. "Good to see that this brain of yours of working alright." He said, tapping the side of David's head with a bright smile. 

"Oh." David blinked, and then he winced. 

Alec came walking through the trees, pushing aside the branches so that they didn't slide back and slap him in the face. He looked exhausted, and, as more time passed, like an escaped criminal who was hiding out in the woods to evade the police. But it was just Alec, who had always been a little rough around the edges, but had always been reliable, a shoulder to lean on, and Jon watched as he ambled over and sat down a few feet away. 

"How's he doing?" Alec asked, jolting his head toward David, as if it was a great mystery as to who he would be asking about. 

"Coherent." Jon said, and then he paused. "Well, he knows his name, and what he does for a living, and what his fathers does, which is good enough, I think." He shrugged, and then he dunked the cloth into the water again, wrung it out, and then stuffed it into his pocket. 

"Yeah." Richie agreed, slowly slipping out from David, but grabbing him so he wouldn't fall. David was looking somewhere else, distant and faint. "Are we gonna get moving?" He asked, glancing up at Alec curiously. 

"Yup." Alec nodded. "Teek just needs to-" He was cut off by Tico emerging from the trees, getting to his knees in front of the river. Tico cupped his hands and dipped them into the river, before he hurriedly tilted his head back and drank it. A small smirk crept onto Alec's face. "There's the man of the hour." He said. 

"Fuck you." Tico drank more water, and then he realized that there were three extra people staring at him, bemused by the sight. "Um, sorry." Tico got back into a standing position, looking awkward. 

"A word of advice!" Alec smirked. "Don't eat the tree bark." 

Tico glared. "Let's get moving." He said, brushing the dirt from the knees of his jeans. "The bear, if it's trying to follow us, probably won't take long to get down the rocks." He walked over to Richie, Jon and David, his walk deceptively casual despite the concern on his face. 

"I can't believe you ate tree bark." Jon remarked. 

Tico shook his head. "I was hungry." He said defensively. "Hey, Dave." He added in a softer tone, crouching down beside David. "How ya' feeling, huh?" Tico asked. 

Staring back at Tico, David lifted his shoulders in a weak shrug. It was better than nothing, but Jon's heart still ached, and he looked away as Tico helped David into a standing position. David nearly fell, his legs weak, shaky. He looked pale and miserable, but Jon counted his blessings that he hadn't had another seizure. 

After a minute, Richie stood up. He pressed his hands against the small of his back and bent backwards with a wince, before he offered his hand to Jon. 

And Jon took it. 

**Wednesday 7:42 AM**

Despite the sun, it was still increasingly cold as they resumed walking, partly because they were all still wet, but Alec was willing to bet that it was just the usual Canadian weather. He puffed warm air into his hands and rubbed them together, glancing over his shoulder and pausing as he waited for Tico and David to catch up. 

It was like an unspoken rule that everybody would wait for David, and whoever was with him, to catch up. But, with the amount of things that they had to step over on the ground, it usually took awhile. Alec peered up through the trees, and shivered harshly. His jacket hung wetly against his neck, and Alec hoped that they wouldn't get sick. 

Alec remembered when the bus had first crashed. He remembered the loud sound of screeching tires, and Alec, who had been standing in the aisle, about to ask Tico what the hell he was doing in there, was catapulted backwards. He remembered hearing yelling, and then they were spinning, being tossed around. A small part of Alec had known what been happening, but it was mostly chaos until the bus came to a stop, and the spinning had abated. 

At first, Alec had been sure that they'd get rescued within a day or two. But now, as they walked through the woods on the third day, Alec was pretty sure that it was going to be a few more days. They weren't exactly going to be easy to find, and with the amount of time it took to walk, surely, it'd be at least a day before they found their way. 

But, of course, Alec wouldn't tell anybody that. Morale was already low, and no matter how cheerful Tico was about the chances of their survival, Alec bit his tongue and stayed silent. He stepped over a log, listening to the noises that were echoing in the distance. A bird chirped, there was a low hum, like a bee. A small part of Alec was afraid of the bears, of the wolves, but in the daylight, he was much more confident. 

"Wait, hold on, do you guys hear that?" Richie suddenly asked, pausing, listening for whatevet he'd heard, and Jon stopped, too, although, judging by his bemused expression, he hadn't heard what Richie had. 

"No..." Tico replied. 

Richie held up his finger and slowly looked around. "I heard something." He said softly, his eyes dark as he examined the trees. 

As silence fell over them like a thick, heavy blanket, Alec heard a faint rustling noise. He frowned, biting his lip as he tried to determine where the noise was coming from. He looked both ways, down, and up, and then his eyes settled on a clump of bushes. 

A small, dark shape appeared from the greenery. It was tiny and furry and Alec tilted his head as he stared at the wet fur and wide eyes, and felt his heart stutter as his brain connected the pieces, and he realized that he was staring at a bear cub. An actual bear cub, a sweet and tiny future killing machine. 

"Fuck me. Not again." Tico moaned, shifting uncomfortably. "Not this shit again." 

Alec felt inclined to agree, hands clenched into fists, fingers curled and nails buried into the soft palms of his hands. It was one thing after another, but instead of Mama and Papa Bear, it was Sister...or Brother. Alec didn't know and, quite frankly, didn't give a fuck. He snarled, and took a weary step back. He wasn't sure about whether or not grateful about the fact it wasn't Balto and his pack. 

"Let's go." Jon said. 

But just as those two words, hushed and hurried, came into existence, there was more rustling. Bigger rustling, and Alec's breath hitched. He looked at Tico, and saw fear in his dark eyes. David didn't seem to realize what was going on. Alec wasn't surprised. He looked back at Richie and Jon, and saw that they are trading furtive glances. 

It was a different bear than the one on the cliff. This one was bigger, fatter but not taller. Alec was pretty sure that this one was a female, aside from the fact that this one had cubs with her. He could sense the uneasiness, the fear. 

And so could she. 

The bear opened her mouth and let out a roar. Spit flew from her jowels. The bear cub ran behind the mother's front legs, and Alec saw, out of the corner of his eye, perhaps unknowingly, Tico stepped back and pulled David with him. David looked at Alec, and frowned. 

"What do we do?" Alec whispered. 

"Stay still." Tico replied minutely. 

But the bear was inspecting them, slowly coming closer. Alec was pretty sure that she wouldn't attack, because the baby was there, and attacking them would only prove dangerous to her baby. The bear growled. She seemed to consider the situation, and then she turned around, nudging her baby along with the tip of her nose, and the baby hopped along. 

"Teek..." Alec said. 

"Shhh." Tico held up his finger. 

There was a tense, short silence, and then the bear roared and turned around, jogging toward them with frightening yet casual speed. The baby was nowhere to be seem, but all Alec could think was, ' _Oh, here we go again.'_ and then he ducked to the side, away from the bear's path of destruction. 

Alec landed on his stomach, knocking the air from his stomach. Sticks scratched at his hands, and he hurried to scramble, pushing his legs our from underneath his body. Alec gasped for breath and looked over his shoulder. "Run!" Tico yelled, but Alec couldn't see him. 

The bear saw Alec and lashed out with her paw. Alec would've stayed, would've tried to help Tico and David, but the bear lashed out again and came toward him, and Alec hurried onto his feet. Alec felt his heart pounding, his breath coming out in short pants as he hurried to get away at any cost, and then he tripped over something. It was hard and Alec yelled out, feeling himself tumble down a small hill, leaves poking into his arms. 

**Wednesday 7:55 AM**

Tico didn't think. He saw that bear and his mind commanded on autopilot, forcing him to do the exact same thing that he'd done two days prior with Bryce. A part of him wondered if it was the same bear. It didn't matter. Tico shoved David down and covered David's body with his own, hearing David yelp as his bad arm took the brunt of the fall, but staying mostly silent as the bear looked around. 

Above the bear's head, Tico saw Alec. He covered David's head with one of his arms, heart pounding. "Run!" Tico yelled, and the bear saw Alec and went after him. Tico's legs twitched, and he almost got up, almost caught the bear's attention, but then David gasped sharply as he clutched his arm against his chest, and Tico didn't. 

By God, Tico didn't, and he hated it, but as much as he wanted to save Alec, at least Alec could run, defend himself, to some degree. David couldn't. And Tico couldn't see Richie or Jon, which meant that David would be left alone if he went after the bear. 

And that would've been a death sentence. 

**Wednesday 7:58 AM**

The bear was staring at them. 

As it had chased Alec, Jon had tossed a rock at it. The rock had hit the bear's stomach and caught her attention, and the bear twisted her head to look at them right before Alec took an unexpected tumble down a small hill. Richie lurched, about to say the bassist's name in surprise, but he bit his tongue, and instead looked at the bear. 

Jon seemed frozen, rooted to his spot. 

"Fuck." Richie said succinctly, and he grabbed Jon's arm to pull him back. It only figured, that shit would hit the fan, but Richie had been hoping, praying, that it wouldn't. Jon looked at him, blue eyes wide. He didn't know what to do, and neither did Richie. It was all up in the air. 

The bear roared, and it came barreling toward them. Richie shoved Jon to the ground and away from danger just as the bear reached them, and he tripped when he stepped backwards. The bear growled and caught Richie's pant leg in her mouth, narrowly missing his leg, clutching at his jeans and pulling him backwards. Richie yelled, panicked, trying to pull himself back, but the fucking bear was on steroids or something, Richie didn't know. 

"You fucker!" Jon suddenly yelled, and Richie could only watch as, like some angry cat, Jon jumped and started hammering on the bear with a rock. Richie would've been impressed, if he could've actually spared the time to think. Jon got onto his feet, but he was still hammering, and he was going hard. The bear roared and thrashed, but Jon ducked away. 

The bear roared and barreled toward Jon, who turned tail and ran. The bear jogged after him, and Richie tried to get back up, but he tripped over himself in his haste to get up. A sharp, stinging pain went through the palm of his hand, and, with a pained groan, Richie looked at his hand. 

A bramble vine, having fallen from the bushes, was sticking out from Richie's hand. He ripped it out, tossed it over his shoulder, and stood up, walking toward the small hill that the bear and Jon had gone down, but they weren't in sight. 

Richie felt his heart drop. 

**Wednesday 8:03 AM**

Slowly, Alec managed to push himself up. 

There was a small gash on his forehead and he was bleeding, but Alec paid no mind, stumbling to his feet and looking around. He'd fallen down a small hill, nothing too bad, and Alec groaned, wincing as the side of his hip complained as he started to move back toward the hill, knowing that, first things first, he needed to go find the others. 

The bear was gone. Alec couldn't see her anywhere, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. He wanted to know where she was, but he decided to be thankful that he couldn't see her for now, settling for the safety and comfort as he began to climb. Rocks tumbled down, and Alec grunted, slowly beginning the trek up. 

When everything was said and done, Alec would never go hiking again. 

It was slowly getting warmer, or maybe it was just the exertion. Alec sighed, nearly tripping on a root that was sticking out from the ground. He nearly tripped, and he watched as a bunch of crows took flight from a nearby tree. 

**Wednesday 8:08 AM**

It took a few long minutes, tense as the silence began to feel like a heavy blanket, before Tico shifted, and he decided that it was as safe as it'd ever be. If they stayed there for any longer, then Tico would be afraid that the bear would come back, and mere idea terrified him. "Okay." Tico said, and his voice was hoarse. "I think we should go find the others." The implications that the bear had gotten somebody, all of them, possibly, went unsaid, and Tico told himself not to think about any of that, he just couldn't. 

David slowly managed to sit up. He whimpered and clutched at his arm. Through his hair, Tico thought that he saw a tear slide down David's cheek before he wiped it away. "I'm sure it's fine." Tico said, standing up shakily. His knees felt unusually weak, and he grabbed David's good arm to help him stand up. 

"Where's..." David paused, and then he shook his head, frowning. Tico looked at the younger man, and wondered what he was thinking about. 

"We're gonna go find them." Tico wrapped his arm around David's torso. 

At least, Tico hoped so. He had no idea where anybody had went, if they'd gone left or right. All Tico knew was that Alec had fallen down a hill, and Tico tried to tell himself that Alec would be okay, it wasn't a tall hill, but his worried mind told him otherwise. 

**Wednesday 8:15 AM**

Jon couldn't breath. He wanted to stop, to sit down and take a few deep breaths and reassure himself that everything was okay, but he couldn't, because the fucking bear was coming after him, and if Jon stopped, then the bear would kill him, just like it did with that asshole who took David, just like it did with Bryce, and all Jon could hope for was that everybody else was okay, that Richie was okay, that there weren't any other bears or that the wolves hadn't found them. 

Trees whipped by, mere shapes in Jon's peripheral vision. He tripped over roots and rocks but kept running, only surviving by mere fact that the bear wasn't really running, just jogging, like this was a casual affair. Jon's lungs burned, and his legs ached. The bear was grunting, and she sounded close. 

But Jon didn't look over his shoulder, he didn't trust himself to. 

A large shape appeared in the distance, and Jon squinted. He saw what seemed to be a barn of sorts, imposing, falling apart at the seems. The door was swinging open in the wind, and Jon knew that so many dangerous things could be in there, but the bear chasing him was much more dangerous than any asshole that could be hiding on there. 

So Jon jumped over a log, thanked God that he exercises as much as he did, and ran toward the door. The bear was huffing and puffing and Jon jumped inside, kicking the door shut, tumbling onto his back. The door slammed shut, and there was a thump heavy enough against it to send dust from the rafters down onto the floor and Jon, who sputtered. He scrambled up and tossed the lock, just as the bear let out a _eeeuugh_ and hit the door again. 

Jon pushed himself away from the door, panting, his heart pounding. It was like something from a horror movie, and Jon looked around, at the old horse stables and pig pens, wrinkling nose at the smell of dust. ' _Guess who's gonna be congested tomorrow.'_ Jon thought, irritated at the mess he'd found himself in. 

The barn was very dark, and hay and rat droppings was scattered across the ground. There was a mouse skeleton amongst the mess, and cobwebs in the corners. Jon stumbled to his feet, shivering slightly in the cold air. His legs felt like jelly, and the bear had gone silent, but Jon needed to do something. He didn't want to be left behind. 

Below, the floorboards creaked, and Jon paused. There was a rake leaning against the wall, and a worn, ratty blanket laying beside it. Jon tilted his head, listening as the wind howled, and then he took another tentative step. 

And he was falling. 

In the oblivion that was the darken underneath, it was a millisecond. Just an hour or so before, Jon had jumped off a cliff, and now he was falling, and he didn't know where or why, and he barely managed to scream before he hit the ground with a thump and a cry of pain. 

The ground met his head, and Jon groaned as stars danced in his vision. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the cold, stone floor, his heart hammering in his chest. The pain was there, a terrible, pounding sensation that made Jon feel sick, but he knew that he needed to move. 

' _Soon..'_ A voice whispered in Jon's head. But he needed to move now, and he moaned as he did as such, pushing himself onto his knees. He had landed on his back, and it ached horribly, but Jon got up, anyways, stumbling drunkenly to his feet. Jon blinked as his vision hazed and danced, and then finally smoothed into a focus.

It was a basement, dark and creepy. Jon looked up, and saw that he hadn't fallen into a hole, but a hatch, the door of which was swinging open casually. He groaned and dragged his hands through his hair, looking around the basement, seeing that there were shelves lining the walls, lined with cans, and a worn, stained cot in the corner. 

Jon's heart leapt to his throat, and he felt very cold but very hot at the same time, as if he was sick. There was what looked like a stable, but it was taller, and there were no gaps in the boards. Jon slowly walked toward it, each step like a walk toward death. He felt like he couldn't breath. 

The whole thing was so fucking weird, and Jon wanted to go home. He wanted to go home and be safe and not be here, not at all. There were blood stains on the ground, but they'd long dried. Jon sniffed, but only dust and mildew met him, not the smell of rotting bodies.. 

Pausing, Jon clenched his fists, and wondered what he'd find on the other side of that stable. Maybe, he didn't want to know, but for however long he'd be stuck down there, he needed to know, and so Jon rounded the corner, perhaps a little too fast, or maybe a little too slow, and a loud bang echoed through the basement, deafening Jon, and a sharp pain stabbed at his abdomen. 

Everything spiraled. Jon stopped, paused, so suddenly that it was like he had been frozen to the ground. He didn't understand at first, couldn't understand, one of his hands raising to his stomach, grazing it, but not touching. His ears were ringing. Jon opened his mouth, but no sounds came out. 

And then Jon fell onto his ass, shocked, knowing what'd happened, reasonably, but he didn't understand. The pain felt like a burning fire, from his bones to his veins, and he realized it. "Oh." Jon whispered. 

Doc was sitting there, eyes wide, realizing what he'd just done, but still just as shocked as Jon was, maybe even more. He held the gun between limp fingers, and then he dropped it, where he banged unpleasantly against the concrete ground. "Holy shit." Doc remarked, and that just about summed it up. 

The blood felt hot. Jon gasped, and he didn't know what to do. He'd just been shot, he didn't know what to do, and Doc stood up and walked toward him, no, crawled, and his knee brushed aside the gun. "Hey, holy shit, okay, um, don't panic." Doc said, but he sounded like he was panicking. 

"You shot me." Jon said, because he didn't know what else to say. The pain was terrible, and he knew, distantly, that things were very, very wrong, but his mind hadn't processed things quite yet. 

"I thought you were - you were _him."_ Doc ripped his jacket off and set it down on the ground. He grabbed Jon's arm. "How the hell did _you,_ of all people..." Doc trailed off as the began to tug Jon's jacket off impatiently, as if he couldn't wait for nothing. 

"Ow, ow, asshole." Jon grit his teeth and moved away, but a jolt of pain went up his body and he stopped. He groaned, pausing suddenly, wondering if he was going to die. Jon told himself to stop thinking about that. "Calm down." Jon said, slapping weakly at Doc's hands. 

"I don't want you to bleed out." Doc snapped. 

"Oh, f'c off." Jon shut his eyes and took a few breaths, as deep as he could without the pain overwhelming him. He wanted to feel angry, but he didn't have the energy. "Do you have something...to pull the bullet out?" He asked. 

Doc's dark eyes flickered up. "What?" He sounded perplexed. 

"I don't know!" Jon burst out, fighting back a cry of pain as the pain increased. "A pair of tweezers...hell, just use your fucking fingers, I don't want lead poisoning." 

"I'm not gonna do that!" Doc said in a fiercely indignant tone, recoiling away from the other man, as if afraid that Jon would grab him and force him to do it. "That's gross." Doc added in a softer tone. 

"You shot me, and just - oh, whatever." Jon put both hands behind him and dragged himself over to the wall. There was a consistent burning feeling going through his body, his bones, but mainly focused on his stomach. Jon wondered why he felt so calm, and wondered if it was a bad thing. 

"What are you doing?" Doc asked sharply. 

"Getting this goddamn bullet out." Jon replied. 

Jon didn't know when they'd be rescued, nobody did. He didn't know when the bullet lodged in his body would begin to poison him, but Jon wouldn't dare give it a chance. He slowly pulled his shirt up, and grimaced as blood dribbled out from the wound. But it wasn't a lot, so Jon would be glad for that. 

It wouldn't exactly be a fun time, but Jon didn't want to die like that. He wanted to survive, and he wanted to see Tico and Alec and David and Richie again, to be rescued, to make more music and write more lyrics and to tell his parents that he and Richie were together. Jon took a forcibly deep breath, and looked at the bloodied entry hole on his stomach, gently inspecting his back until he confirmed that the bullet was still inside. 

Slowly, Jon's fingers returned to the wound, and he gently probed it, trying to get used to the pain. Blood bubbled and became sticky on his stomach, and Jon grimaced. He slowly inserted his fingers, and screamed, curling his legs up toward his chest. The pain was worse than anything, like a furious fire burning through his body, and Jon felt tears burn in his eyes. 

"Shit. I can't." Doc said, and he moved away audibly. 

"Go...find an exit or something, be useful." Jon replied breathlessly. 

Doc's footsteps faded away, and Jon resumes his task, breathing forcefully through his nose as he inserted his fingers into the wound. The blood was hot and sticky, and Jon had to fight back a sob as he forced the fingers in, probing around, and it was the weirdest experience, to feel his own insides. Jon, lips pursed, looked away, resting his chin on his shoulder as he fought back a sob. 

Biting his lip desperately to keep his sobs inside, Jon dug inside deeper. The burning sensation got worse. His fingernails scraped the end of the bullet, and he pushed even deeper. Blood streamed from the wound in a steady flow. Jon found the bullet and dragged it out with his fingernails, thrusting it out and tossing it onto the floor, where it clanged against the metal. 

A burning tear slid from Jon's eye and down his nose. He wiped it away, and blood streaked onto his face. Doc suddenly appeared, holding a red box in his hands. "I found a first aid kit." He said simply, setting the box down beside Jon and stepping rapidly backwards. His eyes found the bullet, and then Doc looked away, as if guilty. 

Jon, with clumsy hands, opened the kit. A large silverfish jumped out, and Jon recoiled, watching as the creature slithered away, before he inspected the contents. There was a roll of gauze, wet wipes, a bottle of peroxide, and several other items that Jon sighed at. He grabbed the gauze and the peroxide, and awkwardly jut his lower half out. 

His hands were shaking and it was an odd job, but Jon poured peroxide on the wound. He whined and forced himself to take a deep breath, one that made his stomach burn even worse, and then he tore open a package of wipes and clumsily wiped the blood away. 

The wipes were tossed in the corner, and Jon awkwardly began to wrap the gauze around his abdomen. Jon winced. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He said, softly, under his breath, forcing himself to wrap the gauze tightly around him, no matter how terrible it hurt as consequence. 

"I'm sorry." Doc said, barely audible from where he was standing a few feet away.

"Shut up." Jon tossed his head back, and allowed himself to relax for a few short moments. His heart was pounding and the feeling of intense pain was still throbbing painfully, but he had the gauze on and he'd cleaned it the best he could and the bullet was out, so Jon decided that best would be best. 

Jon slowly, shaking, got onto his feet. The world was swimming, but Jon closed his eyes and, when he opened them back up, everything was a little more clearer, a little less dizzy. He stumbled over and grabbed his jacket, pulling it on and zipping it up, before walking back and grabbing the kit, and then the gun. 

When he saw this, Doc recoiled. "Hey, wait, Jonny..." He took a step back. 

"Take the kit." Jon thrust the box into Doc's hands and then, with the gun angled to the ground, put the safety on. His wound hurt like a bitch and he didn't want to be walking around, not yet, but he needed to get back to the group. "Okay, we need to find an exit or something. A door." Jon looked around. 

Doc shook his head. "He wouldn't out a door down here." He replied. 

"Who's 'he'?" Jon asked. 

"The guy." Doc said. "I ran from the bear and ended up here, and this guy...he came, told me that he was gonna..." Doc hesitated. "Gut me. Like a pig. Fucking left me here, alone." Doc shivered, and then he walked back over to the pen to grab his jacket. 

"What guy?' Jon frowned. "Fuck, Doc. He's dead." He paused. "Unless there's two psychos in these woods." Jon wouldn't doubt it. 

"What?" Doc said sharply. 

"Um, there was this guy, in a cabin, a few miles from here." Jon replied. "He kidnapped David, held him hostage until Alec and Richie found them. He...a bear killed him." Jon looked away, tucking the gun into the waistband of his jeans before he began to press hard on the walls, looking for an exit, a sign, a clue. 

Doc was silent, struck by the information. "Oh." He finally mumbled. "So, the rest of them are okay?" He asked. 

"Yeah...well, David's hurt, but he isn't...he's still alive." Jon grunted, beginning to feel weak. "Bryce is dead, Doc." Jon said, perhaps a little too bluntly, and a stab of pain went up his heart, not from his injury, but from the remembrance of Bryce. 

"Oh, oh, shit." Doc whispered. 

"Help me find a way out of here." Jon didn't want to remember Bryce, and couldn't afford to think of him at that moment, anyways. He groaned, resting against the wall. "He has to have a way out of here." Jon said. 

"Why would he?" Doc shrugged. "He obviously wants whoever falls down here to stay down here." He said. 

"Too much of a risk." Jon walked over to the wall, and knocked the cans off of the wall, where they clattered against the ground. "Too much of a risk...if he fell down here." He said. 

"A key?" Doc raised his eyebrows. "That he always kept on him?" 

Jon hoped not. He banged his hands against the wall, and then looked around, inspecting the dusty walls. It was hard to see anything, especially with the minimal light coming in from the hatch, but Jon was determined. He could feel it, the certainty that there was an escape in plain sight. "If he had a key, then there's a door." He said to nobody. 

"Obviously." Doc remarked. 

Choosing to ignore Doc instesd of being a snippy remark that likely wouldn't end well, Jon continued to search the walls. He pressed on the bricks, moved around everything, desperate to get out. He didn't want to rot down there, especially not with Doc. Jon kicked at a wall, and dust fell onto him. 

And then he paused. 

There was a table, standing on weak wooden legs, against a wall. Jon walked over, and pushed it a few feet away, hearing as it screeched against the ground, and then he looked at the wall. There was an obvious indentation, a thin line in the dust. Jon wedged his fingers inside and began to pull, but he stopped, feeling dizzy, a familiar wetness blooming against the gauze. 

"I need your help." Jon said, hating that he was having to ask in the first place, but he couldn't without making things worse. Doc walked over without comment, sensing the tension. Jon took a deep place and stepped aside so that Doc could grab the door, too. 

With two people, the door opened with surprising ease. A puff of dust came up, and Jon coughed as they pushed the door open, and they stared at a long, dark hallway, one that seemed almost impossibly silent. 

**Wednesday 8:25 AM**

Alec finally managed to scramble up the hill, grunting as he finally made it back onto stable ground. He rolled onto his back, panting hard, his body aching and his head throbbing, but he'd made it, and that was all that mattered, really, to Alec, who really just wanted for everybody else to be okay, to be alive. He couldn't deal with somebody he cared about dying. He couldn't. But Alec knew that he couldn't thinks bout any of that, not then, not now. 

The sky was a bright blue that seemed too cheerful, and Alec sighed. He pushed himself up onto his legs, and looked around. Nobody else was in sight, but Alec didn't let himself become too worried yet. They'd probably ran and hid from the bear, and, besides, not too long had passed. 

If anybody was injured, then they wouldn't be dead. Alec didn't think about the bear. He didn't think about how she could've eaten somebody, mauled them. He didn't even dare. 

"Alec? Oh, thank God." A voice said, and Alec whirled around to look behind him, at Tico, who was grinning, and setting David down onto the ground. David went easily, blinking groggily. Tico looked too happy. "Oh, thank God, I thought that the bear..." Tico didn't finish his sentence, just stepped foward and pulled Alec into a hug. Tico was strong, forceful, and his grip felt safe, reassuring in a way that reminded Alec of his father, whenever he was hurt or scared. 

"No." Alec mumbled against Tico's shoulder, patting the other man's back comfortingly. "No, I just, um, fell." He motioned vaguely to the hill. 

"We fell, too." David said. 

"No, we didn't...well, okay." Tico pulled away. "Where's Jon and Richie?" He asked. 

"I don't know." Alec admitted, looking around, as if he was hoping to see them. "I haven't seem them since the bear." He added. 

For a minute, Tico and Alec stared at each other. Alec pat Tico's shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine." He said, even though nobody could be sure. Alec didn't know, that was for one. 

" _Joooonn!"_

Tico went to open his mouth, but then he closed it. He looked at Alec, perplexed. 

"Well, looks like we found Richie." Alec said. 

"Go on ahead, I'll get David." Tico nodded his head toward where it had sounded like Richie was, and then turned around, making his way toward David, who simply looked at them, his eyebrows pitched, as if confused.

And Alec did. He hurried down the hill, sliding down like a kid in the snow, before standing up and looking past the trees. He frowned. "Richie?" Alec called out in a softer voice, jogging toward where he'd last heard the guitarist. "Richie?" Alec repeated, praying that the noise wouldn't attract the bear. 

Richie's head suddenly bobbed into existence, and he walked out from a small group of trees. "Alec." He said, relieved. "I was - where's -" He looked back up at the hill. 

"Teek and David are okay." Alec said. 

"Oh, good." Richie took a deep breath. "Jon's missing." He said. 

"What?" Alec looked at him. "What happened?" He asked, feeling panic rise in his chest alongside concern. 

"The bear was right there and Jon started hammering on his head with a rock and the bear chased after him." Richie replied breathlessly, looking around with desperation bright in his dark eyes. "Alec, I can't...I can't do this without him." 

"He's okay." Alec said. "Jon's going to be fine, okay?" 

**Wednesday 8:55 AM**

The stairs were at the end of the hallway, and at the top of the stairs was a door. 

Jon hammered into it with his shoulder, but it was useless. He wasn't strong enough to pop open the door. But he knew who was. "Doc, ram your shoulder in there." Jon said, stepping aside so that Doc had enough room. 

"Why...oh, fine." Doc prepared himself, dancing from one foot to the other, taking deep breaths like it'd make a difference in the end ahem that door popped open.

Maybe the bear would be out there, who knew, but Jon wouldn't rot in this prison if he had a single choice about it. He could be ripped apart by that bear or die from blood loss, just like Bryce had, but Jon couldn't just let himself sit there and do nothing while waiting for a rescue that'd never come. 

With a grunt, Doc ran from one end of the platform to the next, and rammed his shoulder against the door. The door shook, rumbled, but stayed firmly shut. Jon stepped aside and pressed himself further against the wall. "You can do better than that, Doc." He said. 

Doc gave Jon a look before he ran foward again and rammed his body against the door. Immediately, the door popped open, and Doc collapsed onto a pile of leaves. He grunted, and then recoiled away from the sun, hiding his eyes from the unusually bright light. Jon winced but stepped foward and over Doc. "Thanks." 

Making a disgruntled noise, Doc pushed himself onto his knees. He looked around. "Where the hell are we?" He asked. 

**Wednesday 9:00 AM**

Eventually, Tico and David did manage to catch up, and Richie began walking immediately, giving them a quick look to make sure that they were okay, and Alec had to job to keep a steady pace. 

But it seemed like Jon and the bear had vanished into thin air. Richie didn't yell again, but the worry only increased on his face as they continued to walk, looking for people that didn't seem to be anywhere to be found. Alec prayed that Jon was okay, that he was safe, maybe looking for them, too. 

"Don't worry yet." Tico said, but it was clear from his tone that he was just talking to David. Alec was surprised that David knew what was going on to any degree, but decided to be thankful for that, at least, because that meant David was getting a little better than he'd been earlier. 

"He's fine." Alec whispered. "You know how Jon is, he would kill that bear and make a fur coat before it killed him." But he could tell that Richie was too worried for any placation to work. 

And Alec couldn't blame him. 

Suddenly, there was the faint sound of talking, and Alec twisted his head, but Tico looked back at him with a closed mouth. The talking was audible, but the words themselves couldn't be made out. Richie tilted his head up. 

And then he started running. 

"Ri - fuck!" Alec looked at Tico, who nodded, and Alec took off running after the other man. Alec didn't know where he was going, but Richie was going and he was, too. Alec's heart was pounding. ' _Please.'_ He thought. 

Three figures came into view. Alec saw a stout figure in a full suit, torn and tattered. He saw Richie, recognizing his jacket, and saw a slender blonde in his grasp, wrapped up in his arms, and Alec knew that it was Jon without another thought being spared. ' _Thank you.'_ He thought, his run slowing into a walk. 

Richie was hugging Jon tightly, face pressed against the wild mess that Jon's hair had become. Jon was reciprocating the hug, resting his chin on Richie's shoulder, arms wrapped tight around the older man's chest. Jon's face was pinched in pain, though, and he was trying to keep his lower abdomen away, which Alec frowned at but didn't bring it up, not yet, not when they were obviously so happy to see each other again. 

It took a few more minutes, but Tico and David came into view, exhausted but clearly perking up at the sight that met them, and Alec smiled but didn't say anything yet. He had a lot of things to say - he wanted to ask Jon what had happened, if he was hurt, if he was okay. He wanted to ask what the fuck Doc was doing, how he was alive. 

But, for now, as Tico set David down onto the ground with a muttered explanation so he could stretch his back, as Doc watched, as Richie and Jon hugged each other, Alec stayed quiet, and he smiled.


	25. Chapter 25

**Wednesday 9:16 AM**

Richie thanked God, thanked any higher power that was listening, as he buried his face against Jon's hair. They'd barely been separated for an hour, but that hour had been worse than anything else Richie had encountered in the last three days, and he was glad for this single sign that everything would be okay, bevause if Jon was okay, then Richie could make an exception for everything else. 

From over Jon's head, Richie caught Doc's eye, and Doc looked away. Richie frowned, sensing that something was wrong. He should've felt relief with Doc's unexpected revival, but all Richie felt was suspicion. He forced himself to pull away from Jon, and felt his suspicion turn into alarm at the sight of blood. Richie took Jon's face in his hands, and Jon recoiled. 

"What happened?" Richie asked, but Doc turned away fully, and Jon looked distrustful. "Hey, what happened?" Richie repeated, but he really didn't want to know. All he wanted was for Jon to be okay, was that so much to ask for? Richie couldn't, nor wouldn't, do this if something happened to him. 

"Nothing." Jon said, wiping the blood away with the sleeve of his jacket. "Nothing happened. This is from an, um." He paused, biting his bottom lip, obviously trying to find a lie that Richie and the others would believe. 

"Tell the truth." Alec said firmly, and it was hard not to listen to him. Alec had that look in his eyes, the one that was torn between concern and anger, but Richie didn't think that the anger was directed at any of them. Instead, he saw Doc trying to avoid eye contact, and knew that Alec was angry at Doc, but didn't know what for yet. Maybe Alec knew something that he didn't. 

Jon took a step back. "Nothing, I don't know where the blood came from." He said, but his bottom lip quivered when he took a deep breath, and he didn't seem to be so sure of himself. 

"You're just gonna make things worse if you lie." Tico said. 

"Nothing happened. I must've..." Jon trailed off, and then he shook his head. "I'm not lying." He said softly, looking down toward the ground, as if too ashamed to meet their eyes, which wasn't like him at all. 

"Just tell me." Richie implored, taking a step foward. 

"Nothing." Jon said firmly, and then he turned away. He went to cross his arms but a wince of pain crossed his face, and they fell limpy back to his sides. 

Richie stared at him for a minute, and then walked over to him. He wrapped his arm around Jon's shoulders. "What's wrong?" He asked, and Doc opened his mouth, but Jon looked up and gave him a scathing look that sent Doc's mouth back shut without comment. 

"Where were you, Doc?" Alec asked, turning to the older man, probably hoping that the change of conversation would help Jon admit what was wrong, or at least make it easier to pry the truth from him. 

"There's a barn, back there." Doc pointed into the distance. "There's a trap door, and I fell through it after I escaped from the bear. A few hours after I fell, this guy came along, looked in, told me that he would be seeing me soon." He paused, and then looked at Alec. "Is it true, he's dead?" He asked. 

"Who?" Alec said, perplexed. 

"The guy, the psycho." Doc elaborated, and the creepings of desperation could be heard in his voice, the need and want to know. 

"I think he was the same one that took David." Jon said when it became clear that there would be no understandings on Alec's side. "Unless there's two psychos around here." He added in a softer voice. 

"Oh...yeah, he's dead." Alec shook his head, obviously trying to clear the thoughts from that day out of his head. 

Richie grimaced at the rememberance of that day. He had never seen somebody die before, and even though he hadn't actually watched as the bear ate that man, the screams were ingrained in his head. But then Richie remembered Bryce, and his grip on Jon became tighter. 

"Let's move." Tico suddenly said, and Richie saw that Tico had been looking somewhere in the distance, silent and abject from the conversation. "I don't want to be here if the bear's still in the area." Tico grabbed David and pulled him back up, his actions hurried and rushed. 

"What bear?" Doc asked sharply, looking around, as if expecting to see one barreling toward them through the trees. 

David stumbled to his feet. "Oh, you're alive?" He said mildly, his eyebrows furrowed, looking rather confused. 

Smiling slightly, Richie kissed Jon's head and then pulled away to look at the younger man. "What happened?" Richie asked. "If you got hurt, you gotta tell us, othwrwise it'll just make things worse." He reached up and gently dragged his thumb across the faint red imprint that the blood had left on Jon's cheek. 

"I'm fine." Jon said, but he didn't seem certain of that. "But I got something to show you guys." He pulled away from Richie and then reached back. 

Jon pulled out a gun, and Richie blinked. "Where the hell did you find that?" He asked, startled by the sight of the gun that Jon had seemingly pulled from out of nowhere, like a magician and a rabbit. 

"Yeah, I second that question." Alec said. 

"Doc had it." Jon replied. 

"I found it on the ground back in the cellar." Doc explained. "I don't know why that psycho would have it down there..." He trailed off, and then shrugged, as if it didn't matter at all, not in the slightest. 

"Can you shoot that?" Tico asked. 

Jon nodded. "Yeah, my parents taught me how. But if somebody else knows how to, then I'd rather them have it." He replied. 

"Does anybody else know how to shoot and handle a gun?" Tico asked, looking around the small group. Alec shook his head and Richie did, too, and Tico sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I mean, I _can_ shoot but I'm not good, I think I'd shoot my own foot off." Tico said. 

"Right." Jon tucked the gun back in his waistband and another look of pain crossed his face. Richie reached out to lightly touch Jon's arm. Jon just looked at him. "I'm fine." Jon repeated, even though the opposite was clear. 

"Let's go." Tico said. 

"Wait!" Doc suddenly said, holding his hand up. "I have to get some things, hold this." He thrust the first aid kit into Alec's hands and then took off jogging into the distance. They watched him go without complaint, and then Alec turned to Tico.

"We can outrun him." Alec said. 

Tico rolled his eyes. "This better be important." He muttered. 

"Knowing him? Probably not." Alec replied doubtfully. He looked up, and some of the harshness disappeared from his eyes. "I'm glad you're back, Jon." He said. 

Smiling faintly, Jon leaned against Richie, trying to make it seem casual, like it was nothing more than a simple affectionate gesture, but Richie knew better. He looked at Jon, at the paleness of his face and the strange way that he was holding himself, but none of the ideas that ran through Richie's mind made sense, although, none of the situation made sense, either. 

Doc suddenly came jogging back, three cans held precariously in his arms. He came to a stop, breathless and sweating profusely. "There's food in here." Doc said through his gasps for breath, shifting the cans around to emphasize them. 

"You don't say." Alec said dryly. 

"How are we supposed to open them?" Richie asked, eyeing the cans with interest, his stomach growling in want. "I don't know about anybody else, but I don't have a can opener on me." He said. 

"They're probably not gonna be hard to open." Tico said. "But we should get somewhere safer before we figure _that_ out." He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably, already exhausted. 

"I'll take him." Alec handed the kit to Richie and then walked over. 

"There's peroxide in here." Jon tapped the kit with his index finger. "We can try to clean David's cut." He said. 

It seemed hopeful, or maybe Richie was just blinded by the food. Jon kissed his cheek before moving away, sticking his hands in his pockets without a word, and it was weird, but Richie recognized that Jon wanted to be alone so he didn't try and push it. Jon would come to him soon, and Richie was sure of that, at least. 

Or that's what Richie told himself. 

**Wednesday 9:45 AM**

It was only when David's footwork began to get sloppy did Tico finally stop, which, since he was walking ahead, forced everybody else to stop, too. They looked at him, waiting for instructions like good little soldiers, and Tico took a deep breath. "Let's rest up." He announced. 

They'd stopped near a small, grassy area, one where birds chirped cheerfully from above in the trees and the sun was shining from the sky. Alec set David down against a tree. "You holding up okay?" Alec said, pushing back David's hair so that they could look at each other. David shrugged but didn't reply, just looked back down at his knees. 

Richie sighed as he finally came to a stop, leaning against a tree. He was grateful that the bear hadn't managed to grab him by his leg, because it was already tiring and exhausting enough to walk without an injury. He had no idea how David, even with the help of others, was making it. 

"God." Doc groaned as he sat down, rubbing his knees. 

It didn't escape Tico's notice that Jon didn't seem to be walking nearly as fast as he usually did, but he didn't mention it. If Jon was injured, and he almost certainly was, then he was stubborn enough and determined enough to keep it a secret, and nobody would be able to drag it out of him. 

But that didn't help Tico's concern as he held out his hand. "Give me the kit, Rich."

Richie handed him the first aid kit, and then he stretched out, cracking his back with a grimace. Tico paused. "Go and see what Jon's up to." He whispered, before quickly moving away to where David was. 

It was a sad sight, but Tico crouched down. "Alright, let's see what we have here." 

The kit was dusty, and Tico brushed his hand along the top before he opened it, inspecting the contents befors he pulled out the bottle of peroxide and then the wipes. He set them on the ground, and set the box aside. "David, are you with me?" Tico asked. 

David's head bobbed. "Yeah." He said. 

"Okay, I'm gonna try and clean your cut." Tico said. "It's probably gonna hurt like a son of a bitch, though." He looked up, briefly, at David's face, and David nodded, but he didn't seem to truly understand, not even when Tico opened the bottle of peroxide and pulled David's jacket away from his neck so that it didn't get so wet when Tico poured the peroxide. 

They shouldn't be having to deal with this, and Bryce shouldn't have been dead, and Doc shouldn't have been presumed dead, and David shouldn't have been injured. Tico shouldn't have to brush David's hair away from his neck and stare at a wound, streaked with red, swollen, and slowly dribble peroxide onto the cut. 

David cried out, and he recoiled, his good arm coming to a rise, pressed against his cut so that Tico wouldn't pour any more onto it. Tico grabbed him and pulled him back upright. "I told you." Tico said, and he reached up and placed his hand on the side of David's face. It was wet. "It's okay, that just means it's doing its job, cleaning put all that bad shit." Tico sighed, and he reached down for the wipes. 

It was quick work. Tico wiped the cut, taking care to be gentle, and then he looked at the cut, pulsing red but clean, with the dirt hanging been wiped away. Tico put the peroxide back into the box. "You're all set." He said, and David sniffed, resting his head against the tree. 

"Why does Doc have to be here?" David whined. 

Tico fought back a reluctant smile. "Because we have to stick together." He replied, trying to keep an even tone. "Even when the people we're with are assholes." Tico pitched his voice loud enough to be heard from where Doc was. 

"He's more than an asshole." David said wearily, but Tico only pat his head and then he stood up, making sure that Alec was nearby, which he was, inspecting something on the ground, before he walked back over to where Richie was and handed the kid back. 

For his part, Richie hadn't moved from his spot on the ground. He was staring up at Jon, who wasn't paying attention, like a schoolboy and his crush. "What do you think is wrong?" Tico asked conversationally, and Richie shrugged, obviously nervous to talk to Jon, who, while not imposing, could get snippy if somebody said the wrong thing to him. 

"I don't know." Richie said. "I hope it's nothing serious." He looked up at Tico then, as if to emphasize his point. Richie's eyes were widened slightly, and it was a hard sight. Tico put his hand on Richie's shoulder in a minute of comfort before he walked away to Doc, the last person he wanted to be with but the essential one. 

Because Doc had food, and none of them had eaten in three days, four, if you consider that none of them had eaten on the day of the crash. Tico hoped that the food would give them enough energy and enough patience to make the hike, plus, that David's cut had even cleaned enough that it wouldn't get worse, but Jon was making things tricky. 

If Jon was too injured to make the hike, but did it anyways, then it'd only give them worse trouble. But Jon didn't seem to realize that, because, in his mind, he would only cause them worse trouble if he told them. "Do you wanna try to open those?" Tico said, nodding his head toward the cans. His stomach had gone silent, but it ached like never before, faced with the prospect of eating, but the food was still so far away. 

"What? Oh, yeah." Doc tore his gaze away from the trees, seemingly having fallen into his thought, as they were prone to do. "Yeah." He repeated in a softer voice, and he set two of the cans of the ground, still holding one in his grasp. 

"They shouldn't be too hard." Tico said, mostly to himself as he grabbed the can. 

Alec appeared, seemingly from nowhere. "What are you gonna try to do?" He asked. "I have an idea, if you wanna hear." Alec shrugged a little, as if he didn't care if Tico wanted to hear or not, and was just being polite for the sake of it. 

"Hm?" Tico hummed, raising his eyebrows. 

Holding his hand out, Alec took the can and starts walking, inspecting the ground with renewed interest. He ambled around for a minute, and then crouched down beside a large rock that was jutting out from the ground. "I saw my uncle do this once, dunno if I can do it, though." Alec said, and he started rubbing the tip of the lid against the rock without much of an expression, but his stomach growled as the metal rubbed painfully against the rock. 

**Wednesday 10:05 AM**

Jon breathed heavily through his nose, and resisted the urge to ask Richie for the first aid kit. He was dizzy, and the world might've went sideways if he so much as turned his head, and it was all a fucking nightmare. Jon shut his eyes for a minute, and then he opened them, hearing a crow call out in the distance that spanned above his head, hearing a noise like somebody was rubbing something hard and loud against a rock. 

Of course, just when things got a little okay again, Doc goes and shoots him. Jon had been trying to ignore the pain, but it was getting bad. He would've killed for some painkillers, hell, even alcohol to dull the pain, but all he could do was bite the skin from around his fingernails and try and ignore Richie, even though all he wanted to do was help, and all Jon wanted to do was retreat into Richie's arms and ignore everything else. 

But Jon couldn't, and David was already enough to deal with without another person ending up hurt. Jon shifted his leg, and inhaled sharply as pain shot through his stomach. He was bleeding, but couldn't unbutton his jacket to take a look at the damage. Even if Jon could raise his arms, Richie was staring at him, and it was too much of a risk. 

Pressing his lips together, Jon wondered what his parents were doing, if they were looking. They probably were, because Jon should've been in contact with him, keeping up with his sporadic call schedule, but they might noteven be aware that something wad wrong. 

"Fuck! Fuck!" Alec suddenly yelled, and Jon flinched, and he coukdnt keep in the moan of pain. He bit down hard on his tongue, until the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, but Richie still looked at him in alarm before he stood up and walked halfway across the clearing. 

"What happened?" Richie asked, hoping for the best when he already knew that it was the worst. He put his hand on the tree, and suddenly felt like yelling, for all the world to hear, begging for help that would never come. 

A can suddenly was tossed across the clearing, and it landed on the ground. Alec appeared a minute later, and Richie looked at him, worried. "What happened?" He repeated when no answer was forthcoming. 

"That - asshole - he fucking put rocks!" Alec said through clenched teeth. "He put rocks in there, and cloth, so the rocks wouldn't make any noise, because he knew, he fucking _knew!"_ He grabbed the can again and prepared to toss it, but Richie grabbed his hand before he could, fingers tight around his wrist. 

"Don't." Richie said softly. 

Alec looked devastated. "We're gonna die out here." He whispered, and the can dropped, and Alec did, too. He buried his face against his knees, and he sat there, silent, his nerves grated and shot. 

From the foliage, Tico appeared. He looked tired. "I'm sure that there must be some sort of food out here." He said, but the hope was gone, sapped from his voice, having disappeared alongside their energy. 

"Where?" Alec spread his arms wide. "Besides from the bears and the wolves, have you seen any animals? And, I'm sorry, I don't trust any of you to decide which berries or which leaves would be safe to eat." He said. 

"There has to be _something."_ Jon bit his lip and looked up toward the trees. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but November isn't exactly prime time for plants." Alec replied, standing up from his crouch. He placed his hands on his hips, and looked contemplative, staring out into the wild trees of Canada. 

Tico sighed. "Well, maybe, if we get to that gas station, then there'll be something there." He said. 

For a minute, Alec looked like he was about to argue, and then he nodded. "Okay, good idea." He didn't sound happy, but it was clear that he didn't have any other ideas to give. 

"Alright, let's get going, then." Tico walked over to where David was, grabbing the younger man around his stomach to pull him up. "If we're headed in the right direction, I say that we make it by nightfall. Or early morning." He said. 

Jon went to stand up, but he winced and fell back again. He sat there, breathing heavily through his nose, his heart pounding. He would've checked the bandage, if given the chance, but it'd been too risky. Nobody could know, not until they were rescued. Jon stood up, shaky but upright, and noticed that Richie was looking at him with sad brown eyes. 

"What?" Jon said, suddenly uncomfortable. He usually loved having Richie's eyes on him, but he didn't want Richie to notice. Jon hoped that he wouldn't bleed through his jacket, but he supposed that if he was bleeding that much, then he wouldn't have enough time to be a burden. 

Richie shook his head. "Why won't you tell me?" He asked. 

"Nothing's wrong." Jon felt like he was a broken record, repeating himself until the sun burned out. But things were very wrong, because Jon was bleeding, and it hurt, but he couldn't do that to the rest of the guys, and then Jon walked away because he couldn't bear to see that look on Richie's face. 

**Wednesday 10:15 AM**

"Wait!" Alec suddenly said. He held his hand out, and paused, his face carefully stoic. "We're missing somebody." He looked around, lips pressed together in thought. "Oh, shit." Alec moaned, and he tossed one of his hands in the air as he turned away from the rest of the guys. 

"Who?" Richie looked around, but it didn't take long for the realization to sink in. 

"Where the fuck is Doc?" Tico asked sharply. "I told that idiot, _I told him-"_ He broke off and shook his head, obviously too angry to speak. 

"What are we gonna do?" Alec asked, looking at Tico for some sort of instructions. There was no doubt in Alec's mind that any of them would leave without Doc, although Alec was pretty close to breaking that. David was barely conscious and Jon was injured, and Alec didn't need to deal with Doc, too, he really didn't. He could've, maybe, if Doc would listen, and stop being such a prick. 

"Go and find him." Tico replied in an even tone. "We can't leave him behind, no matter how much we hate him." He paused, and it was clear that Tico hadn't expectd himself to say such a thing. 

"Can David make the hike back?" Alec asked. "Because Doc's probably back where we just left." He glanced at David, who was staring at something else and didn't seem to be hearing or listening to whatever they were saying. 

"I dunno." Tico thought about it for a minute. "Probably not. Here, how about you and Richie go and see if Doc's back there, and I'll stay here with Jon and David." 

"Is that okay?" Alec asked, looking at Richie, who shrugged. 

"I'm starting to think that you people only keep me around for my searching skills." Richie said with a smirk. He tried to catch Jon's eye, but Jon was avoiding eye contact, and Richie sighed. "I'll be right back." Richie promised. 

But then there came a familiar roaring sound, and Doc came barreling from out of nowhere. He looked terrified, his eyes wide, and he grabbed onto the nearest person, Alec, who stumbled back, startled. "The bear." Doc gasped, shaking Alec by his shoulders, as if to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. 

"What?" Alec looked at Tico. "Shit, what do we do?" He asked. 

Tico shook his head. "We can't run." He replied. 

As they stood there, debating their limited choices, Richie saw Jon move away, and he grabbed Jon's arm, pulling him back. Jon stumbled and turned to look over his shoulder. "What?" Jon said. 

"Where are you going?" Richie asked, pulling Jon even closer. 

Jon looked tearful. "The bear can smell the blood." Jon whispered. 

"What blood? David's?" Richie didn't understand. 

Shaking his head, Jon pulled the hem of his jacket up, and Richie was shocked to see blood, more than he'd seen in the last four days combined, wet and sticky and too, too real. "I'm just putting you in danger." Jon said, and he tried to pull himself away, but he was too weak. "I'm just putting you all in danger, please let me go." 

"No." Richie just held on tighter. "I'm not going to let you leave." He said. 

"Then leave!" Jon snapped. 

"I'm _not_ going to leave." Richie insisted. "We're not going to leave you, Jon." He said, and he was firm in that. Richie wouldn't leave anybody behind, much less the person that he wanted to spend every day with. 

"We aren't." Alec said. "We aren't gonna leave you, Jon, but I have no idea what we're going to do." He shook his head, looking contemplative. 

"Have you gone fucking _crazy?"_ Doc burst out, finally letting go of Alec. "He's going to put everybody in danger." He snarled. 

"Shut up, or I'm gonna punch you." Tico said calmly. 

"You're turning on me again." Doc looked like he was simmering in rage. "He's putting us all in danger, but _I'm_ the one you're mad at, okay, that makes sense." 

"Wait, hold on." Richie held his hand up. "Why are you bleeding?" He turned to Jon, who flushed red, as if embarrassed. 

Any and all thoughts of the bear disappeared, the lack of any roars and growls or physical presence had made sure of that. Everybody turned to Jon, who stepped back, looking less and less like the confident person that he usually was on stage, and more like he was getting ready to fall apart at the seems.

Richie tilted his head down. "Jon, why are you bleeding?" He repeated firmly. 

The question seemed to make the tension get so much worse. Jon bit his lip, and he looked at Tico, as if begging for the drummer to help him, but Tico shook his head, and Jon tossed his head up to the sky, looking torn between what he was supposed to do and what he wanted to do. 

"I got shot." Jon muttered. 

Alec seemed to jolt to life. He looked at Jon, eyebrows raised in concern and alarm. "Who shot you?" Alec asked. 

It was then that Jon looked at Doc. "It was an accident." Jon said, as if that would help anybody, as if that would make Doc feel any safer surrounded by three people who were capable enough to rearrange his face, and would gladly do so. 

"Wait a minute, hold on." Tico hurried to say before anything else could happen, holding his hand out and grabbing Alec by his shoulder. "When? How?" He asked.

"When I fell, there was this place that Doc was hiding and he thought that I was the psycho and he shot me." Jon explained, his breath starting to speed up uncomfortably. He took another step back. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alec said, sharply turning to Doc, who recoiled. 

"Don't get mad." Jon took a step foward, but all the blood seemed to rush from his face, and Richie barely managed to step foward in time to keep Jon from falling onto his face. Jon scrambled and grabbed onto Richie's arms, looking pale. 

"Hey, let's sit down." Richie directed Jon to the ground. He pressed his hand against the side of Jon's face. "Are you okay? Dizzy? Sick?" Richie asked, and he grabbed Jon's shoulders to keep him steady, going into mother hen mode in less than a few seconds. 

"Dizzy." Jon mumbled. "I'm fine, it's just..." He trailed off, and then shook his head. 

"Fine?!" Richie squawked indignantly. "You've been shot." His voice softened. "I don't know why you didn't tell me, baby." He said. 

"I didn't wanna worry you, or the other guys." Jon mumbled, pressing his hand against his stomach. "I'm sorry." He said. 

"Don't be sorry." Richie crouched down in front of him. "We'll get through this, just like we always do." He said, brushing away Jon's hair from his tired eyes so that they could look at each other. 

"Will we?" Jon said mildly. 

"Yes." Alec appeared, his voice firm. "You'll be okay." He insisted. 

Tico shifted around, his feet were starting to hurt.. "I'm sure that we'll get rescued soon." He said. "You'll be fine, buddy." He paused. "Did you clean it?" Tico asked, as if it'd only just occurred to him. 

"Yeah, I got the bullet out, too." Jon replied. 

**Wednesday 10:40 AM**

Jon hissed through his teeth and recoiled, trying to get away from Richie's hands, but Richie grabbed him beforw he could, keeping him rooted to the spot, frozen before, with one meaningful look, Richie began to resume wrapping the gauze around Jon's stomach. 

It'd been a long process of cleaning the blood away, but it was better than nothing, and Richie was quite proud of himself. Jon had bit his tongue against the whimpers of pain, trying to stay still, as the pain throbbed against his body. Jon had looked tearful, but he'd breathed through it, and as Alec crouched beside them and handed off medical supplies like a dutiful nurse, and as Tico stood by with David, awaiting for whatever to happen, the tension seemed to dissipate, if only by a little. 

"There we go." Richie couldn't help the pang in his heart at the sight of all the blood. He didn't want to think about how things could've went worse, how Doc could've shot Jon in the heart instead of the stomach, how Jon could've bled out instead of being able to stifle the blood flow, if at least somewhat. Richie held his hands out, a little dubious about the blood that was now caked onto them. "How are you feeling?" Richie asked. 

"Thank you." Jon replied, knowing full and well that Richie wouldn't appreciate the bad truth that Jon had, that he felt even worse, but at least the sticky feeling of blood had disappeared. He breathed as deeply as he could without the stab of pain, and smiled at Richie. 

Richie smiled back. "I'm gonna go, uh, clean myself off." He stumbled to his feet without the use of his hands. He kissed Jon's tousled hair and turned around, walking into the trees. 

Seemingly too embarrassed to have stayed with the group, Doc had separated and was sitting on a log, his hands cupping his face, looking solemn. Richie walked over without an expression, his walk deceptively casual. And then he grabbed Doc by the collar of his shirt and wrenched him backward. 

Doc yelped. "What the fuck are you doing?" He demanded, startled by the action. 

"Listen, and listen close." Richie said. "I'm not the biggest fan of you to begin with here, but what happened...you're lucky that I don't tie you up to the fucking tree and allow that bear to rip your apart. Hell, I'd do it." He muttered. "If you so much as look at Jon, I will kill you, do you understand?" Richie asked. 

"Yeah. Yeah. Okay." Doc nodded frantically. 

Richie looked at him. "I _will_ kill you." He tossed Doc backwards onto the ground, and he walked away. 


	26. Chapter 26

**Wednesday 11:08 AM**

It made sense, really, why Jon hadn't told him, but Richie still couldn't stop thinking about it as they walked down a grassy hill. They'd gotten moving shortly after he'd finished patching Jon up, and Richie was beginning to struggle behind with his thoughts, keeping one eye on the foliage around them, and the other on the ground, watching his feet as they descended. 

Even though he knew that Jon trusted him, after all, Richie was his closest confidant and friend even without the romantic implications that it had led to, it still hurt that Jon had been forced to tell the truth rather than just tell Richie. It was Jon's personality, stubborn as a mule and harsh in the worst and best of ways at the same time. Richie wondered if Jon hadn't told him for a specific reason that Jon, with his need to always be seen as the strong one, had deemed necessary. Richie didn't want to think about it, but as he watched Jon slowly transcend the hill, he couldn't stop. 

"Are you okay?" Richie asked, his voice a mere whisper so that Alec, who was just a few feet away, couldn't hear. Jon visibly jumprd in surprise, and he smiled when he saw who it was, but it wasn't a minute too late to hide the grimace of pain. "Do you need to stop ad catch your breath?" Richie added, because he was anything but perpetually protective when somebody he loved was hurt. 

Jon's smile slipped momentarily. "I'm fine." He replied. "And I know you don't believe me, but I do want to go home, so I'm gonna..." Jon paused, licked his lips, and mimed a walking motion with his arms. "Solider on, I guess." But then Jon's smile came back, and he reached out to put his hand on Richie's shoulder. "But thank you, Rich." He said. 

"No problem." Richie glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, listen, I want you to stay away from Doc." He lowered his voice into a mutter, inching closer because Doc overhearing the conversation would just make the situation even worse. 

"Trust me, I'm not exactly his friend." Jon carefully stepped over a large rock that was protruding from the ground. 

"Yeah, but just...keep your distance, for me." Richie said. 

Jon gave Richie the side-eye, looking suspicious and curious. But Jon nodded, anyways, as if he'd devided that the fight wouldn't be worth it. "Okay." He said. 

"Thank you." Richie briefly squeezed Jon's hand and then he started walking with more earnest. The tension in the air was thick, and Richie could sense the anger and the violence broiling just below the surface. He knew, reasonably, that Doc was too much of a coward to do anything outright, but that didnt mean if another bear came along that Doc wouldn't push Jon or, hell, somebody else in the warpath so that he had a fighting chance. 

Which made Richie worry about David. Doc wouldn't do it to Alec or Tico, and probably wouldn't do it to Richie, now that he was thinking about it, because they could defend themselves, and weren't in bad shape. Starving and exhausted, yes, but doing reasonably well under the circumstances. No, if Doc was in such a position, he would toss David or Jon to the lions. 

And that just made Richie angry, but he breathed through his nose and told himself that Doc wouldn't do that. He was a coward and an idiot, but he wouldn't do that. He wouldn't sentence somebody else to death just to save his own hide. 

They finally reached even ground, and Tico groaned. He rubbed his knees with the hand that wasn't holding David steady, looking like he was about ready to collapse and just tell the other guys to go on without him. "I'm getting too old for this shit." Tico said breathlessly, shaking his head but knowing that he had no other choice but to continue walking. 

"We gotta keep moving, though." Alec replied. "We gotta make it, well, somewhere." He gestured to the woods around them. "I can't handle another night outside, and I don't think Jon or David can, either." Alec put one hand against his hip, and then he grabbed David's arm. "I'll take him." He said. 

"There's a branch in your hair." David said plainly, looking at Alec with faint curiosity. He didn't seem to be in such bad shape, but nobody was getting their hopes up. David was, after all, in the worst condition, and without any food or good medical care, he was only gonna spiral. 

"Thanks." Alec said. "You better, Teek?" He asked. 

"Yeah." Tico nodded. "Okay. Let's go." He began to walk again, and Richie stuck his hands in his pockets, ambling behind Jon as they started moving toward a thick crowd of trees, ones that seemed to stare out from the wood like strangers.

Jon looked over his shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking." Richie replied. 

"About what?" Alec asked from the front. "And don't you lie to me, Sambora." 

"About food." Richie lied. 

"Yeah, I don't think that's such a bad thing to be thinking about." Tico said, rubbing the small of his back. "Like I said, there's probably something at the gas station."

"And if there _isn't?"_ Alec implored. 

Tico shrugged. "I don't know. It's dangerous to eat anything out here." He looked around. "Acorns, maybe? Those are probably the safest things to eat." Tico looked up at the trees, and he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Got a bad headache." He muttered. 

"I've got a question." Doc suddenly said. "Has anybody found any water?" He asked, looking between everybody with raised eyebrows. 

"We did, before we found you." Tico replied when Alec looked away, silent. His tone was stiff and words clipped. 

Richie fought back a smile at the scorned look on Doc's face. Had it been anybody else, Richie would've been sympathetic, but he couldn't find any sympathy to spare for Doc. Alec shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find more." He said. 

"Will we?" Jon said faintly, and he leaned into Richie's shoulder. 

Feeling Jon's heart pound against his skin was somewhat gratifying, and Richie felt a little bit better, as if that sign of life had brought him back into reality. The air was bitterly cold, and not even the sun could help warm them up, but, at the very least, their clothes had dried, and they weren't thirsty, but Richie knew that he would be soon, with the walking that they were doing. 

At this point, Richie was surprised that everybody was still able to walk. The pain in his feet was overshadowed by his headache, but after walking consistently and only sitting down sparingly and to sleep, he expected somebody to have cracked by then. But they were musicians who spent a lot of time on stage, and Jon was constantly running around up there, and Richie supposed that they were too used to it to truly be in pain. 

Which was a good thing, because on top of hunger and exhaustion, they didn't need to deal with _that._

"Jon, just wondering, how many bullets do you have in that gun?" Alec asked. 

The question came out of the left-field, and Richie frowned. Jon pulled the gun out and, with the barrel pointed to the ground, pulled the chamber out. "Five." Jon replied, and then he looked up, eyebrows furrowed. "Why?" He asked. 

"No reason." Alec said thinly. "Um, keep it out, please." 

Tico looked up. "What?" He asked sharply. 

"Because the bear's watching us." Alec hissed. 

Richie's eyes widened. He could feel his heart begin to pound, and he was sweating despite the frigid temperature. "Where?" He asked, his mouth dry. 

"Over there." Alec gestured weakly, his hand barely raising. 

A small part of Richie didn't want to turn his head. He didn't want to see the fucking bear, he never wanted to see another bear again. Jon's hands were shaking. "Okay, okay, um." Jon took a shuddering breath. "Just so you know, I can't kill this thing." He said. 

"Why not?" Alec asked. 

"Bears have skulls that are, like, really fucking thick." Jon whispered. 

"Ah." Alec nodded. 

David suddenly jumped, and he tried to move away from Alec, who just held onto him tighter. David whimpered. "There's something watching us." He whispered, as if he'd only just seen the eyes in the distance, as if his fevered mind didn't comprehend what they'd been talking about. 

"Yes." Alec nodded. "It's a bear. But Jon...he has a gun, and if he has to..." He trailed off, letting the unfinished implications of his sentence hang in the air. 

The bear snorted, and it slowly stepped foward. It was the same bear that they'd seen before, the mama bear, who was suspiciously absent of her child. 

**Wednesday 11:46 AM**

Jon didn't know if he could shoot the bear. As she was, just staring at them, he couldn't, not with the thoughts of wherever her child was hanging over his head, but if she tried to attack them...if she tried to hurt them, Jon would have to shoot her, and he tried not to feel too guilty about the facts that weren't yet set in stone.

A small part of Jon, in the depths of his mind, wondered if the others would leave him if push came to shove. He probably couldn't stand to run very fast or far, so he would be left for the bear to tear apart. ' _They wouldn't leave you. Richie wouldn't leave you, so stop thinking about it. David's still here, thank God, and he can't even walk, so why would they abandon me?'_ Jon took a deep breath, and he stared at the bear, who was still staring, waiting for something, maybe. But what? 

Suddenly, there came a rumbling sound, loud and persistent, like that of a motor fan. Everybody looked up in unison, the one thing that they were united in. Jon knew what it was in his heart, but it was only when the red and white object came whirring over them, its blades whirring, did it register in Jon's mind that it was a real, genuine helicopter. 

And it sent a lot of things in motion. 

Richie pressed one of his hands against his agape mouth, his dark eyes wide, shocked beyond any words that usually would've been spoken. And the bear roared, the noise seemingly having brought her to life. She snarled and barreled foward. "Shoot her!" Alec yelled, and Jon raised the gun, and he fired, forgetting that it was on safety, and it clicked. 

"Shit!" Jon groaned, and he switched the safety off, raising the gun just in time to send off a shot. The bear roared, and Jon flinched as the resulting noise rang through the noise. 

The bear growled, and she came foward again. Whether she was injured or not didn't matter, because she was coming quick, and Jon knew that it there was no worth to waste another bullet. He shoved at Alec's shoulder to get him to move, and the bassist stumbled, seemingly having frozen up. 

"Move, move!" Richie said. 

And Doc did. He turned around and ran, just like he'd done before, back into the bushes, tripping and stumbling in his haste. The bear went after him, with Alec pushing Tico and David away so that they didn't get barreled over by the bear as it began to give chase to Doc. 

"Oh, shit, shit." Richie clenched his teeth. "My God, he's such a fucking idiot." 

"What do we do?" Alec asked. "He can't just keep-" He was interrupted by Tico pushing David into his arms. Alec's eyes were wide. "The hell?" He said. 

"I'm not losing anybody else." Tico said firmly, and he went off after where Doc and the bear had disappeared to without another word, as if that explained everything, which it did, technically. 

"He's not serious." Richie said. "Tico, you can't, he isn't worth it!" He yelled. 

"Even if he isn't, we can't just let him _die."_ Tico hissed before he disappeared fully.

Jon watched him, his hands shaking. He didn't want to go after Doc, but he couldn't just let Tico die, and Jon didn't think that they could let Doc die, either, so he whirled around, grabbed Richie, and pulled him into a kiss. Richie made a startled noise, but before he could reciprocate, Jon pushed him away, and he ran.

Already, his stomach throbbed and the world spinned, but Jon didn't stop. He jumped over a tree log and, with the gun firm in his hand, tried to figure out where in the hell Tico had gone off to. His heart pounded and his breath began to come out in short pants. As Jon ran, his hair got caught on a branch, and he yelped, wrenching his head away. ' _You should cut it.'_ A distant voice said. 

"Tico!" Jon called out, pausing with his hand on the tree, breathing hard. He was bleeding again, and the warmth was unpleasant. Jon took in a deep breath, and looked around. "Tico!" He called out again, but nobody answered. 

Fear and worry curdled in Jon's stomach. He took another step foward, and the gun shook in his grip. "Oh, God, Tico." Jon moaned, his anxiety like a giant rock that was pressed against his chest. 

Suddenly, something hard hit his head, and something collided against him. 

**Wednesday 12:12 PM**

"I'm going after them." Richie said. 

Alec nodded. "I know." He replied calmly. "What do you want me to do?" Alec raised his eyebrows and looked at Richie with thin curiosity. 

"Stay here with David. Unless some animal comes along, _stay here."_ Richie said firmly. "I'm gonna go find Tico and Jon, and if, along the way, I kill Doc, then, hell, that's all the fuckin' better." Richie handed Alec the first aid kit. 

"Okay." Alec said. "Good luck, man, and try not to die." Alec let a hint of a smile tug at his lips before he jolted his head toward the trees. "Now let's get separated for the fiftieth time because of some idiot in a three-piece suit." He said. 

Richie smiled before he turned around and walked into the woods. He didn't know where he was going, but he figured that Tico and Jon had gone straight, so he was gonna go straight, too. Richie hoped that nothing bad had happened to either of them, just when he'd gotten Jon back, and just when Tico seemed to have gone back to his usual self. 

But they'd all make it, Richie knew as he pushed past the trees. They'd all be okay, because there'd been a helicopter. That meant people were looking for them, and that they'd survive this. But it had been four days, and Richie was determined to get them through it. 

The bear was ahead, snorting and sniffing the air. Richie fell to his stomach without thinking, ducking below the brush, his hands pushed against the sharp twigs and crumbling leaves. Richie breathed harshly through his nose, watching as what little he could see of the bear shifted around. 

**Wednesday 12:14 PM**

Alec really, really wished that they'd just left Doc to rub in that little cellar that Jon had fallen into. He wished that Doc had died instead of Bryce, and Alec wondered if that made him as bad of a person as he felt. 

But he was alone with his thoughts, since David wasn't much company. He seemed a little livelier, but didn't say anything, which was unusual, but Alec didn't mention it. He just set David down on the ground and just stood there, waiting for something to happen, for the helicopter to come back or the bear or _somebody._

"Wait, hold on." David suddenly said. 

Alec looked down. "What's wrong?" He asked, only somewhat concerned. He didn't have the energy to get worked up over anything that would probably be something that was so innocuous, it wouldn't be worth the energy, anyways. 

"Where's the others?" David looked around, his eyebrows furrowed, confused. "I don't know...where are they?" He looked up at Alec, perplexed by the sudden changes, which Alec couldn't blame him for. 

After all, David seemed to have been in some sort of fevered haze. His eyes were a little more brighter, a little more wider. Alec was relieved at that, maybe cleaning the wound had helped. "Tico went to go look for Doc." Alec replied. "And then Jon went to go look for Tico, and Richie went to go look for Tico and Jon." He paused, and then smiled. "How are you feeling?" Alec asked. 

"My head hurts." David replied. "And my arm...but my neck feels a little better, I guess." He sighed. "I wanna go home." David said it plain and simple, like a fact. 

"I know. We all do." Alec replied patiently. 

David looked at him for a minute, and then he nodded. "Yeah." He said, looking out into the distance, contemplative. 

"Did you hear the helicopter?" Alec asked. 

"What helicopter?" David looked back up. "There was a helicopter?" He said, perplexed, as if it was such an unusual thing. 

Alec nodded. "You bet." He replied. 

"Oh, cool." David said. "So...our luck is,um, finally turning 'round?" He asked. 

"Yup." Alec said. "We'll get out of here, and none of us'll ever step foot in the woods again." He was confident in that, at least. 

No matter what would happen, Alec knew that he would never go into the woods again. He didn't care if he was given a million dollars just to step an inch into the area, he would never get close again, and he doubted that anybody else would, either, that was for certain. 

Alec sat down with a groan. "Dave, do you...have you noticed anything weird going on with Doc?" He asked, and he recognized how weird the question sounded, no matter the intention. "Like, in any way?" Alec splayed his fingers, resting his arms on his knees. 

"I haven't noticed him." David replied. 

"Okay." Alec supposed that he shouldn't have expected any different. 

"But...he's always after weird to me." David added after a minute of silence. 

That caught Alec's attention, and the turned sharply, lips down turned into a scowling frown that only he could pull off. Or, at the least, that's what Jon had always told him. "How?" Alec asked. 

David pursed his lips, looking hesitant. "I dunno. Just really fucking weird." He replied. "Like, there's something wrong with him, y'know? He doesn't act _right."_

"Um, okay." Alec slowly nodded. "Can you define that for me?" He asked. 

For a minute, David fell silent, and his lower lip puckered into a pout. "Like, he's not completely right. I don't trust him, 'Lec. And Jon doesn't either. He told me that once." He said earnestly. 

"I know." Alec sat back a little. "I don't think anybody does, though, to be fair." He added quietly, playing with his fingers, needing something to focus on besides the sad look in David's eyes. 

David continued to look at Alec for a minute, as he were examining the bassist. A small part of Alec wondered how much David remembered of the last few days, and wondered if he remembered what had happened at the cabin, with the old man. Alec hoped that he didn't remember. "Thank you." David finally said. 

"For what?" Alec didn't want to know. 

"You know why." David replied. "You saved me." He looked up at the sky, at the blissful blue sky. "I would've died." He said. 

"Oh, right." Alec shifted around. "No problem, Dave." He said, and he remembered how the old man had screamed while the bear had ripped into him. Alec wondered how many of them would need therapy after they were rescued. He wondered if they'd ever be rescued, and then Alec remembered the helicopter. 

Alec hoped that the other guys were okay. Doc be damned to Hell, Alec hoped to whatever God was listening that Tico and Richie and Jon would be okay, that they'd come back, that David would continue in his lucidity. ' _A week ago, you never would've thought you'd be thinking about this.'_ Alec thought. 

**Wednesday 12:18 PM**

"You need to stop sacrifice your time for others." Tico told himself, voice firm and finger jabbing in the ait. "You need to stop risking _your_ life and _their_ lives for people that don't matter." Tico paused between two trees, and then he shook his head. "I'm going back." He said to nobody. 

Glancing at his watch, at the two hands that were slowly ticking away the time, it became clear that Doc wasn't worth it. Tico knew that it was a terrible thing to be thinking, but Doc wasn't worth his life, or Jon's, or Richie's, or Alec's, or David's, or, hell, even Bryce's. 

Maybe they'd have already actually gotten _somewhere_ instead of running around in circles like idiots. Tico thought about the helicopter, and how he needed to get back to the others so that, when they were rescued, they'd all be together. They'd be okay, Tico knew. He just needed to stop running after Doc.

**Wendesday 12:16 PM**

Jon didn't know what was happening at first. His mind didn't connect the pieces, too concerned with the bear to realize that the hands grappling at him were human, and that there were legs, and not a lot of fur, so Jon was left to stare up at Doc, who was trying to get a good grip on his neck. 

It was like something from an action movie, and Jon hated action movies. He smacked at Doc's hand and then covered his neck so that Doc couldn't very to it before lifting his legs, and Doc groaned when Jon's knee managed to connect between his legs. But the pain wasn't entirely one-sided, because a burst of pain blossomed in Jon's stomach from the gunshot wound. 

As Doc's legs crumbled beneath him, Jon pulled himself back and out from underneath Doc's body. Jon looked around frantically, searching for the gun amidst the foliage. Despite the persistent burning feeling in his stomach, and the new headache that was beginning to form, Jon fell onto his hands and knees and began to search, pushing aside leaves and sticks for the one thing that could protect them, needing it like he'd never needed anything before. 

Then again, Jon had never needed to fight for his life before. 

A hand grabbed at Jon's ankle and pulled him backwards. Jon fell onto his stomach, and nearly felt himself scream in the resulting pain, but he bit down on his tongue hard enough for the coppery taste of blood to fill his mouth and looked over his shoulder at Doc. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Jon asked as he kicked out with his other leg and narrowly missed Doc's face. 

"Come... _here!"_ Doc wrenched Jon backward, and Jon dug his elbows into the ground before he kicked again and felt his foot connect with something fleshy. A short yell filled the air as Doc grabbed at his nose, and Jon pulled himself away. 

Jon fell onto his ass and watched as Doc pulled his hand away and stared at the blood that was pooling onto his dirty hand. ' _The gun, get the fucking gun!'_ Jon looked around, and he saw a glint of black in the mess of green. He scrambled foward, his heart clenching painfully in his chest, wondering where it'd all went wrong, how, just a few weeks ago, Doc was just his annoying manager. Now, he was an enemy, some psycho. 

And then Doc grabbed Jon's legs and pulled him backwards. Jon curled his fingers into the dirt, his heart pounding painfully against his ribcage, panic making it hard to breath. "Fuck you!" Jon spat out, slamming his fist into Doc's broken nose. Doc yelled out, and he pulled Jon toward him. 

"Stop fucking fighting!" Doc yelled. "You're just making this - _worse!"_ He snarled, lips peeling back from his teeth. He wasn't Doc anymore, he was just some caricature, a mere imitation of the man he once was. 

It was mere panic. Jon slapped at Doc's hands, trying to kick out, but Doc had him trapped underneath his body. Doc growled, like some wild animal. "Stop it!" Jon gasped out, trying to block Doc's hands from getting anywhere near his neck, but that wasn't where Doc was going. Doc slammed his fist into the side of Jon's head, and he yelped, shutting his eyes as stars danced in his vision. 

A wave of dizziness hit Jon. He lashed out and managed to hit Doc's face with the back of his hand, but Doc retaliated with a punch of his own. Jon felt one of his teeth scratch the inside of his cheek as Doc hit him in the mouth, incapacitating him well enough that Doc managed to reach down and wrap his fingers around Jon's neck. 

Jon gasped. He tried to grab onto Doc's shoulders, legs kicking out uselessly as he tried to do _something,_ panic fueling his movement. Jon gagged, coughing as his windpipe was crushed. "Let me-go-!" Jon whispered. 

"No." Doc looked desperate. "You're just putting everybody in danger." He was too calm, too unbothered by what he was doing. Jon would've been startled, if not for the pain and panic, digging his nails into Doc's hands to try and get him to let go. 

**Wednesday 12:20 AM**

It took a few more minutes before Alec's anxiety got the best of him. He should've asked what Richie had wanted him to do if he didn't come back quickly enough, but Alec hadn't, and now he was sitting in the middle of a path with David, and he didn't know what to do. 

"Hey, um, David." Alec said, and his voice was hoarse. Alec cleared his throat, and looked down at ground. He didn't want to be there. "Do you think we should go look for Richie?" Alec asked, but it was merely rhetorical. 

David frowned. "Why?" He asked. 

"Well." Alec shrugged, because he knew it was stupid. "What if they need help?" 

"Oh." David's gaze averted to the trees. "Do you think they need help?" He sounded curious, eerily calm. Alec wondered if he should be glad for that. He didn't know. 

"Probably." Alec replied. 

"Okay." David put his good hand against the ground and pushed himself up. Alec put his arms foward to catch David just in case, but it semed like the lucidity came with newfound balance, and David stood on shaky legs. "Let's go, then." He said, as if everything was normal, as if they were just going for a walk in the park.

Alec gave him a once-over. "Are you good to walk?" He asked. 

"I'll be okay." David replied, and he took a few uncertain steps foward. He looked up and nodded. "Go on, lead the way." He said. 

And Alec did. 

The woods were thick, and it was somewhat hard to see. David was walking slowly, and Alec wished he would go a little faster, but knew that David was still too weak, so he walked slowly enough for David to keep up, and they walked through the woods. Alec wasn't particularly concerned about the bear, but his mind was filled with the uncertainty of his friends' fates. 

What if Alec didn't find them? He knew that Tico would want for Alec to get David to safety, but Alec didn't think he could do that. He wasn't strong enough to leave everybody behind. ' _But you were willing to leave Bryce behind.'_ Alec reminded himself that, when Bryce was alive, David had been in much worse shape. 

There were noises. Birds were chirping, and Alec wanted to hear the helicopter again but knew that he likely wouldn't. "Are you okay?" He asked. 

"Yeah." David replied. 

Truth be told, Alec was going by mere assumptions. He was hoping that at least somebody had gone straight through, and not turned right or left. Technically, they were supposed to be going straight through to get back to the road, which there was a strange humor in. 

"Do you hear that?" David asked, coming to a stop, leaning against a tree. David was rubbing his bad arm, clutching it close against his chest, looking out into the distance with narrowed eyes. 

"No, what?" Alec really hoped that they weren't about to get attacked by a bear. 

And then Alec heard it. 

It was the sound of grunting, of strenuous tasks and over exertion. Alec frowned deeply, and he walked over to David, wrapping his arm around the younger man's waist. Had it been a different situation, David would've made some teasing remark, but now, he only stared. "We need to move fast." Alec explained. 

David nodded. 

They moved toward the sound, and Alec didn't know what they'd find. He didn't want to know, and he wished to God that they'd never found Doc, because he was the reason that they were in this situation, anyways. David was moving as fast as he could, and Alec wondered if he realized, at last, the emergency. 

Pushing past thick trees and leaves, Alec stumbled as his feet hit a fallen log, which nearly made David face plant on the ground. He barely managed to keep both of them standing, twisting his head to look at David, at his pale face, about to ask if he was okay, after all, David had only just got his coherence back, but then David grabbed at Alec's shoulder with his good hand, his eyes wide. 

"What?" Alec said, confused. He turned his head, and was shocked at the sight of two people. Two very _familiar_ people, who Alec had never expected, never even thought, to see in such a situation. 

Doc was staring at them, all wide, blown eyes. He had the gun in hand, pointing it toward the ground as he tried to check the bullets. He didnt look experienced enough to be handling the gun, all shaky hands that were spotted with blood, bright red against tanned skin. There was a man on the ground, with his familiar bloodstained camo jacket, and Alec's heart lurched to his throat, and his mouth dropped open.

The sight made Alec want to scream. He got David push himself up against a tree, and Alec stood there, uncertain. He looked at Jon's chest, and saw that it was moving, and Alec felt like crying, but it wasn't moving _enough._ " _Jon."_ Alec said, and the name sounded like a prayer.

"I really hoped you two would just stay." Doc said, and he sounded like he was trying to conceal his panic behind fake confidence. He licked his lips. "He was only putting the rest of us in danger." Doc gestured vaguely to Jon. 

"Fuck you." Alec said. "Fuck you, you fucking prick." He took a shuddering breath.

"Hey, don't." Doc held up his index finger. "Don't talk that way to me, Alec. I was only doing it for the best of all of us." His eyes flickered to David. "He was only putting us in danger. He wasn't keeping up." Doc said. 

Alec stepped sideways so that he was standing in front of David. " _You_ weren't keeping up." Alec said softly. "Jon was keeping up. He was helping and being useful. He thought that he was a burden, and he wasn't, unlike the real burden around here." Alec looked at Doc pointedly, and then he balanced at Jon, praying that his chest kept moving, that his heart kept beating, willing it to keep working like he could help it if he tried. Alec couldn't lose Jon, none of them could. 

"Me?" Doc raised his eyebrows. "You're skewed, Alec." He said. 

" _You're_ the reason he was hurt in the first place!" Alec snapped. 

"He scared me!" Doc yelled. 

Alec snarled. "Somehow, Jon was less of a burden while he was hurt than you are." He said. 

"Shut up!" Doc raised the gun. 

But there came a yell that was enough to make Alec's fear turn into confusion, and a dark blur came running past. It didn't register in Alec's mind immediately what was going on, all he knew was that the dark blur was currently pummeling hard on Doc, yelling nonsense all the while. 

"That's Richie." David said. 

There were two options in Alec's mind. He either could stand and watch, or go and check on Jon, and so he carefully walked foward, not keen on ending up on the receiving side of Richie's anger, and fell to his knees next to Jon, who hadn't roused yet, but his eyelashes were fluttering, which was better than nothing, Alec supposed as he pressed the back of his hand against Jon's cheek. 

"Hey, Jonny." Alec whispered. "Wake up before Richie kills Doc, huh?" Although, now that he was thinking about it, Alec couldn't help but think it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. But Richie didn't need that on his conscience. 

Jon's head lolled, but he didn't wake up. Alec groaned, and his eyes traveled down to the purplish-blue finger-shaped bruises on Jon's throat. "C'mon, Jonny." Alec said, lightly tapping the side of Jon's face. "Wake up for me." He began to feel a little desperate, his worry increasing. 

" _Stop!'_ David suddenly screamed, and Alec whirled around. He saw David, still pressed up against the tree, looking terrified, and then at Richie, just as the guitarist sat back, breathless, looking like he wasn't aware of himself, had barely heard David, just the desperation and fear. 

Slowly, not removing himself from Jon's side, Alec continued to look over his shoulder. "Richie, just calm down, okay? Just stay right there." Alec said, and then he turned back around. "Jon, buddy, we can't do this without you. Tico can't, David can't, I sure as hell can't." He pitched his voice into a whisper. " _Richie_ can't do this without you. Now get up." Alec said. 

Jon shifted, and he opened his mouth, and he coughed, making a strange gasping noise. He tried to move, but Alec held him down, hands firm against the younger man's chest. "Hold on there, Geronimo." Alec tried to catch Jon's eyes, which were wide as he looked around. "What happened, buddy?" He asked. 

**Wednesday 12:30 PM**

Eventually, the bear had moved away, seemingly having seen or heard something else that had caught her attention, and Richie had moved on. He'd walked away, determined to find Tico and Jon and get the hell out of dodge before anything else could happen, but then so many things had happened, and Richie, just minutes after he'd pushed past tree branches to find his friends, was now sitting on the dirt, his bruises knuckles pressed against the ground. 

Richie's heart was pounding. All he could remember was seeing Doc with the gun, and Jon on the ground, and he'd gone on autopilot. He slowly turned around, and crawled over to Alec, who was crouched beside Jon. ' _He's not dead.'_ Richie thought, and that calmed his heart, if only slightly. 

"What..." Jon went to say, and then he coughed again. His voice was hoarse and rough, like he'd been chewing on gravel. 

"I thought you were dead, by the way." Alec said. 

Blinking, Jon looked immensely confused. Richie couldn't help it anymore, and he reached out, brushing Jon's hair away from his eyes. Alec looked at him. "Have you seen Tico?" He asked. 

Richie shook his head. "No." He replied. 

"Shit." Jon groaned, and he tried to lift his head, by it fell back onto the ground with a defeated _thump._

"What happened?" Richie looked back down to Jon. "Hey, what'd that asshole do?" He asked, trying not to panic too much, trying not to look at those bruises too much because he didn't want to lose his temper again. 

Richie _never_ lost his temper, except he had. 

"Nothing." Jon mumbled, managing to push himself into a sitting position with a scowl of pain. "I'm bleeding again." He said, more to himself than to anybody else, his fingers lingering over his stomach. 

"Shit." Alec groaned. "I left the first aid kit back...fuck, I'm an idiot." He shook his head, looking exhausted and resigned, as if he'd seen too much to really be shocked about anything. 

"That's okay." Richie said. 

"We gotta...find...Tico." Jon said, and he winced, pressing his hand against his throat. Richie grimaced in sympathy, wrapping his arm around Jon's shoulders and pulling him close. Richie was determined to not let Jon out of his sight until they were at the hospital. He just wouldn't. 

"Somehow." Alec replied wearily, turning and looking over his shoulder at Doc. "I don't know what you did to him, man, but maybe you should go check on him, you know, make sure he's still...breathing." He said. 

Richie rubbed his bruises knuckles. "You do that." He replied. 

"Fine." Alec stood up, and walked over to Doc without any other complaints. 

There was a sudden noise, and Tico ran out of the bushes, fell to his hands and knees, and lay there for a minute, breathing heavily. He looked up, then, dark eyes wide and terrified, before they narrowed, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they all stated at him, and Tico stared back. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" Tico finally asked. 

Alec spread his arms wide and turned around halfway. "Looks like we won't have to go look for Tico anymore!" He said cheerfully before walking toward Doc and getting down on his knees, grimacing as he did so when the joints in his knees cracked. Alec supposed that he really was starting to get old. 

Shaking his head, Richie buried his face against Jon's hair. "What happened?" He whispered, and Jon shivered. It was a cold day, but Richie didn't think that he was shivering from that. 

"I don't wanna talk about it." Jon replied softly. 

"May I repeat, what the actual fuck are you guys doing here?" Tico asked as he approached, hands held aloft, fingers splayed. "Because I'm confused." He added.

Alec pressed his fingers against Doc's neck. "Long story." He replied shortly.

The bruises would fade, Richie knew, but he still hated them as he rested his forehead against Jon's, staring into the eyes he'd loved since that very first night, the sort of love that never faded, no matter what ended up happening. Richie didn't want to think about what would've happened if Alec and David hadn't come across Doc when they did. He just didn't. 

"Are you okay?"Jon asked. 

"Am I okay?" Richie scoffed. "I'm not the one who nearly just got killed." 

"No, you're not." Jon replied. 

Richie stared at him for a minute. "No, I'm not." He admitted. "None of us are." 

"He'll be fine." Alec announced. "Probably gonna sue us or somethin'..." He trailed off in silence, pursing his lips. 

"He's not the one that was nearly killed." Richie spat out, twisting his head to look over at Doc, but Jon grabbed his face and forced Richie to look back at him. 

"Stop." Jon whispered. "Doc isn't worth it." He cleared his throat, wincing. 

Richie clenched his fists, and then forced himself to take a deep breath. Getting angry again wouldn't help anybody. "Okay." He replied, raising his hand to press against the side of Jon's head. "I love you." Richie said. 

"I love you, too." Jon replied, and he smiled before pulling away. "Come help me find the gun." He said, and Richie nodded, holding out his hand so that he could help Jon up. Jon took the hand, stumbling as he stood, but shaking it off. 

Looking at Jon for a minute, Richie swallowed his anger and concern. He told himself that things would be okay, that Jon would be okay. But the comforts didn't seem real. 

**Wednesday 12:40 PM**

Tico had been lost. 

The trees had seem identical. The sun had seemed like a distant thought. Things seemed to blend in together, the leaves and rocks and each scar on the Earth, nothing seemed to push the boundaries, and Tico was left to stumble and fall, his determination falling away and giving underneath the fear. He had been afraid that he would be left behind, that the guys would be looking for him but never find him, but then Tico had decided to turn around, maybe get himself even more lost, and had continued walking. 

When he'd stumbled on the root and ended up finding his friends, Tico had been shocked. He had found Alec, the only one who looked calm enough to even start and explain things. David had looked terrified. Jon was bruised, and Richie was crouched beside him. Nothing had seemed right. 

And then Tico had looked at Doc, and his shock turned into initial hate, and even worse confusion. Alec had answered nothing, and Richie wasn't paying attention to him, focused on Jon, who seemed to be okay, but Tico looked at him, and he looked at Doc, and needed answers. 

"Okay." Tico said. "What happened? And don't give me that 'long story' bullshit either, Alec, because I'm not in the mood." He held up his index finger and watched as Alec looked up from Doc. Alec's face contorted and rested on annoyance. It would've been funny, except Tico couldn't find the humor. 

Alec looked at Tico for a long minute, as he contemplating him. "Well, Jon went to go look for you since he had the gun. Richie followed him a few minutes later. At some point, Doc and Jon got into a tussle, and Richie got lost. David and I went to look for you guys, found Jon and Doc, Doc pointed a gun at us, Richie turned into fucking Rambo, bada bing bada boom, we're alive." He said. 

The air was tense. Richie and Jon were standing together, looking for something in the bushes. The gun, probably. Jon had one of his arms wrapped around his abdomen. There were bruises on his neck. Tico looked down at Doc. He was unconscious, bruised, his face was swollen. His nose had been broken. 

Things were only going to get worse, Tico knew. 

"We need to get back to the path." Alec said. "I was stupid, left the kit there because I set it down and forgot to bring it. Jon needs to be checked up on." He rubbed underneath his chin. "What do we do with Doc?" He asked. 

"We obviously can't trust him." Tico replied. 

Alec nodded. "David and Jon aren't safe around him. Doc was going on and on about how much Jon was putting us in danger." He shook his head. "Fucking idiot." Alec muttered. 

"So, we leave him?" Tico asked. 

"Well." Alec shrugged. "I mean, what if....no, okay." He dragged his hands through his hair. "I don't know, Teek." He said. 

And Tico didn't know either. He didn't want to just leave Doc to die, but he couldn't put his friends in danger. Tico lightly knocked his foot into Doc's side, and Doc stirred slightly. Tico looked at Alec, and saw indecision in the bassist's dark eyes. 

"We're leaving him." Tico said, and Alec nodded. 

"What are we doing?" Richie asked. 

"Leaving Doc." Tico looked at Richie, unsure of what he'd see, but Richie looked pleased. ' _Good.'_ Tico thought, because he couldn't deal with any arguments. 

**Wednesday 12:47 PM**

Jon checked the gun, put the safety back on, and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans without a word. His head hurt and his mouth did, too, which said nothing about the ache in his throat and the stabbing pain in his stomach, but he didn't say anything, but watched Richie as he looked down at the bloodied bruises on his knuckles. 

Just five days before, things had been normal. Now, everything had gone sideways, and Jon hated it. He didn't like how strange everything had become, how he wasn't able to predict the things that were happening. Jon looked up toward the trees, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath. He was bleeding slowly through the bandages, and Jon didn't want to think about what would happen if they weren't rescued before they ran out of bandages. 

There were too many possibilities. But Jon took a moment to be thankful. David, still leaning against a nearby tree, seemed to be doing a little better. But it was like they'd traded spots, like Jon would be the one limping along, stuck with the fear that he would be left behind. 

"Hey." Richie suddenly said, and Jon couldn't help the flinch. His fingers dug into the tree bark behind him. "Are you okay?" Richie asked. 

"Yeah." Jon was lying. 

And Richie knew it. "I know." He said. "We're gonna get moving, back to the trail, get you bandaged up again, and then we're gonna to around this part of the woods." He jolted his head to their right. "Doc's gonna be left behind." Richie added quickly, and Jon nodded. 

Jon hated how relieved he was. "Okay." He agreed. 

"Hold on a minute." Alec suddenly said. "Why don't we go that way?" He pointed behind him. "That's where the helicopter was going." Alec looked at everybody, trying to discern an expression. 

"But they came from the road." David said quietly. 

"If either of you are wrong, we lose several days." Tico reminded them. 

"The helicopter could just be scouting." Richie said. "They may have started out near the road but are just going over to try and see if they can find anybody." 

David nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense."

Unsure of what to say, Jon closed his eyes. He felt dizzy, and the shivering that was wracking his body was just making his stomach hurt worse with the forced movements. Jon swallowed thickly, and felt Richie's hand on the side of his face, warm and reassuring, steady against his face. 

"I'm fine." Jon said. 

"If you say that you're fine to me one more time, I'll lose my mind." Richie replied, a small, reluctant smile playing on his lips. "A day or two more before we reach the gas station. We're gonna be okay." He stroked Jon's cheekbone with his thumb. 

"I hope so." Jon didn't feel like it would be, though, but he knew that he was just too pessimistic, and he leaned into Richie, feeling suddenly alone amidst a group of four other people.


End file.
